Hi all!

Thanks so much for sharing some reactions to last chapter, I honestly wasn't sure if people were going to like the direction this story has taken. Much appreciated, and please keep letting me know what you think as we go along!

Special thanks to JaneyGWF for betaing this chapter, even though she is on holidays.

Enjoy!

Maura stared at Jane's writhing body in shock. Once again, she knew she needed to act, to do anything, but her mind continued to spin impotently. She felt the weight of her failure pushing down, heavier than the weight of the morgue roof, more painful than the spikes still piercing her body. She wasn't breathing, or moving, she could only stare and gape.

Frankie finally broke the trance, darting in front of her and shaking her shoulders. "Maura! Snap out of it! What do I do?"

Maura focused on him, his fear and desperation penetrating the fog around her logic and reason. "Blood. Her wound, is she still bleeding?"

Frankie huffed in relief, sliding back down to Jane as fast as humanly possible. "No. It looks like it's sealed over. That's good, right?"

Maura shook her head in worry. "We have to try and bleed her as much as possible. The only reason Jane was able to get through to me when I first turned was because I'd been drained of blood almost completely. If we let Jane turn like this, she'll have no self-control around humans. She'll kill anyone she meets."

Maura gasped in realisation. "She'll kill you, Frankie! We need to get you out of here!"

Frankie was busy pulling his multi-tool off his belt. "We can worry about that later, just tell me what to do."

Maura nodded, knowing he was right. They had around three days until Jane recovered from the change and became dangerous. "Alright. Try opening up the veins on her arm. Cut along the vein, from her elbow towards her hand."

Frankie blanched and pulled back from Jane, holding the knife with distaste. "Are you sure? Won't that hurt?"

Maura sighed in resignation. "She won't even feel it over the pain she's already in. Vampire venom makes you feel like you're being burned alive, from the inside. She doesn't even know we're here."

Frankie still looked queasy, but nodded and bent over Jane. Carefully gripping her right arm, he pressed the knife into her arm, pulling as gently as possible once it pierced the skin. After a few moments, he pulled away and inspected his work.

His frown indicated the success of the procedure. "It's not bleeding. Damn, it's being sealed up. I didn't even get a drop."

He looked back at Maura for more help, and she quickly prompted him again. "Try the carotid artery. Hurry, we obviously don't have long."

He inched closer to Jane's head, using one knee to hold down her still squirming torso. Using as much finesse as possible under the circumstances, he stabbed his sister again.

Frankie growled in frustration as the knife again came away clean. "No, it's no good. What else can we try?"

Maura thought quickly, realising that they needed something to draw the blood out, similar to how a needle had been used to bleed her when she was first turned. A brief mental inventory of the equipment they had on hand revealed nothing of use, but she realised there was one last thing to try.

Maura closed her eyes in distaste, but looked at Frankie with grim determination as she opened them. "I can attempt to suck the blood out. You'll have to lift Jane and put her wrist in my mouth, I can't move."

Frankie stood up and gaped at her in disgust, obviously against the idea, but then glanced back at Jane, still groaning and thrashing in pain. He grimaced, his expression the picture of revulsion, but silently started to gather Jane into his arms. She squirmed and seized, her limbs making it difficult to move her, but he finally managed to curtail her movements enough to get her off the ground. He quickly moved to Maura, somehow freeing a hand and manoeuvring Jane's wrist in front of Maura's mouth.

Maura closed her eyes for a moment, picturing Angela's face as a focus for her actions, then lunged forward and bit down. Her teeth penetrated the skin, and her tongue was soon flooded with the taste of blood.

But something was wrong. The blood burned as it touched her mouth, and continued to trail fire down her throat. Maura immediately spat out Jane's wrist and any liquid left in her mouth, coughing violently as the blood ignited every cell it touched. Frankie stumbled back in surprise, almost dropping Jane, and managed to put her down in a slightly coordinated stumble.

Maura coughed raggedly and started to dry retch, the liquid all gone from her system but the consequences remaining. Belatedly she realised that there was foreign venom in Jane's blood, much more concentrated than the small amount of venom that she'd sucked out of Jane once before. That small accidental bite from Alec's sister had deposited only a miniscule dose of venom, whereas Alec had intentionally injected venom into Jane's neck for several long seconds, nearly a minute. Alec's venom had obviously multiplied rapidly once it reached Jane's heart, and now there was too high a concentration for her system to compensate for.

Frankie was holding Jane protectively but looking at Maura in dismay, clearly at a loss. "Maura, how can I help? What's happening?"

Maura tried to answer, but her coughing fit persisted, robbing her of any opportunity to respond. She couldn't even move her hands enough to gesture reassuringly, so Frankie was forced to watch for several agonising minutes until Maura finally started to still. Gasping in air greedily, she could feel that her throat was damaged, painfully so, but the worst seemed to be over.

Maura finally met Frankie's eyes apologetically, but he simply sighed in relief. "Maura, are you okay? That didn't look fun."

She nodded tiredly, feeling the drain on her energy from the multiple injuries her body had sustained. It didn't feel like she was actually dying, but she was certainly not at her full strength.

Frankie looked back at Jane forlornly. "Now what? I don't think we're going to be able to bleed her."

Maura nodded again, her apprehension returning rapidly. She cleared her throat a few times, and discovered her voice was scratchy but usable. "We need to get you out of here. There's nothing more we can do for Jane, we just have to try and help her once she comes through this."

Frankie sighed again, stroking Jane's distressed face. There were tears streaking his ash covered cheeks, his expression heartbroken as he watched his sister transform painfully into something he hated.

Jane suddenly jerked, her arms and legs flailing aimlessly. She let out a yell of pain, her back curling again as she reacted to the venom forcing her to experience a new level of agony.

Frankie tried to hold her, but her arm caught him in the face, and he was knocked back. Maura gasped in fear, and instinctively jerked against her immovable restraints again. "Frankie, get back! You can't let her injure you. If you're bleeding, it will be that much harder for her to stop. We have to give her the best chance we can."

He nodded in agreement, crawling back away from Jane. They both watched Jane struggle against her own body, filled with guilt and sympathy.

Maura suddenly realised that there was something else she could do. She closed her eyes, trying to block her awareness of the situation. She pushed down her feelings of guilt, her anxiety for Frankie, her apprehension about her own wellbeing, and her fear for what Jane would think about the way her life had just been changed. She buried all her negative emotions, and tried to think about good things.

She remembered coming home to one of Angela's home cooked meals. She remembered spending a casual dinner with her mother after Jane had broken through the ice wall of propriety that had separated them. She remembered playing her first game of pool with Frost and Korsak at the Dirty Robber. She remembered the passion in Susie's voice as they sorted through the logic of a crime scene.

She remembered the first time Jane had invited her to a family dinner, when the whole Rizzoli clan had accepted her as one of their own.

She remembered the moment she realised that Jane had truly forgiven her, and had accepted her back into her life as her best friend.

And Maura allowed herself a brief moment of joy, when she realised that Jane would possibly live just as long as she would. Being alone forever was no longer a foregone conclusion.

They really could be best friends forever.

With a small smile, Maura opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on Jane. She let the power within her draw its flavour from her happiest memories, and directed it at her tortured friend.

To her relief, Jane immediately relaxed, her body falling to the floor in exhaustion. Her chest still heaved with rapid breaths, but her expression softened from an agonised grimace to a tense frown.

Frankie looked on in amazement, his eyes flicking between them in confusion. "What did you do?"

Maura's smile deepened, but her eyes didn't waver as she rasped out a response. "I used the Volturi power for something useful. As long as I can keep this up, I think Jane will be okay. She's still transforming, but hopefully this will make the ordeal a bit less traumatising."

Frankie stepped back to Jane, careful not to break Maura's sight line. He moved Jane's limbs so they were more comfortably situated and stared for a few moments, watching Jane's eyes twitch beneath her eyelids.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Frankie stood again and started looking around the boiler. "So, escape. How does one get out of a boiler? Without vampire strength or jumping skills, that is."

Maura frowned slightly, ensuring she could maintain her positive emotional state before croakily replying. "I'm not exactly sure. Do you still have a phone?"

Frankie shook his head, then bent over Jane carefully to check her belt. He held his hands up, empty.

Maura sighed, moving on to the next option. "I don't think mine is usable, I'm sure I heard it shatter when Alec stabbed me. You might be able to check though, it's next to where you got the gun."

Frankie walked over carefully and leaned against the wall next to Maura, wrapping his hand in his sleeve before feeling around her back.

A disappointed grunt soon confirmed Maura's suspicions. "Nope, it's stabbed right through the middle. No way it's usable."

He stepped back, eyeing the restraints holding Maura to the wall. "Maybe I can get you free somehow? Then you could get us all out of here, and take Jane somewhere safe."

Maura smiled thinly. "That would be ideal, but I don't think I'm going anywhere. The differing angles of the metal and the depth of penetration of the wall mean the rods will either need to be cut off the other side of the wall, or pulled out on this side by someone with vampire level strength. Possibly a combination of the two. I'm not willing for you to try, and risk injuring yourself."

Frankie frowned in disagreement, and walked over to the pile of metal still on the floor. "What if I used some of this? I might be able to pry the stuff off your arms, at least."

Maura's croaky voice picked up a commanding edge as she made her will clear. "No, Frankie. It won't work, and I won't have Jane waking up to a bleeding brother because I couldn't stop him doing something futile. Please, leave me here."

Frankie nodded and shuffled back from the pile of metal. "Doesn't that hurt, though?"

Maura smiled, more genuinely this time, touched by the concern. "Not so much anymore. I think my body has healed as much as it can. It's similar to how I felt when I still had bullets stuck in my back. I can feel the metal through my body, and it's an unsettling sensation, but it's not precisely painful."

Frankie wiped his hands over his face, apparently trying to get his head around the concept of being impaled and still holding a conversation. He shook his head, then refocused on the task at hand. "So, being rescued is probably out, any other ideas?"

Maura thought for a moment, considering their dwindling options. "I haven't ever studied coal power stations, so I'm rather unfamiliar with the design of this particular boiler. Maybe you could look around for any hatches or doors?"

Frankie agreed and spent the next few minutes walking the whole length of the boiler, tapping at the tubes and creating loud echoes throughout the space. Maura waited patiently, keeping her concentration fixed on Jane and her positive memories. It was several long minutes before Frankie made his way back, traversing the entire available floor space before conceding defeat. "There's nothing. Just tubes, all sealed together solidly. There aren't even any holes between the tubes where I could try to pry them apart. And the walls are way too smooth and steep for me to climb."

Maura sighed in defeat, even though she had expected that result. Alec might have been vindictive and possibly insane, but he wasn't dumb, and he knew his way around a power station if his boasting had been at all truthful. If he thought he was putting them in a place that couldn't be escaped, he was probably right.

Frankie wasn't ready to give up though, if his pacing was any indication. "What about the ash? Maybe if I dig down, I might find an exit."

Frankie grabbed a twisted piece of metal Alec had left behind, drawing a raspy warning from Maura. "Wait! Wrap your shirt around your mouth and nose, you don't want to breathe too much of this ash in. And cover the edges of the metal with something too, you don't want to cut your hand."

She was fairly sure Frankie rolled his eyes and muttered something, but he did as she suggested, using the remains of Alec's cloak to wrap the metal, and walked to the end of the boiler. Maura heard him start to dig, the rhythmic thud of the metal against the ash an encouraging sign.

After an unknown length of time, she heard the makeshift shovel strike something metal. She heard Frankie curse, then several minutes of scraping noises. Eventually, Frankie moved back into her peripheral vision, his shoulders slumped.

He threw down the makeshift shovel in frustration, removing the shirt from his face before answering her unasked question. "There's a whole bunch of debris under the ash, about a metre down. Twisted metal, plates, rubbish, cans, it's all tangled together. If there is an exit under there, I can't get to it."

He stomped over to the backpack Alec had left, pulling out a water bottle and taking a small swig. "I'll try the other end in a minute, I might have more luck there."

Maura smile half-heartedly. "Maybe."

Frankie slumped back against the nearest slope, sighing tiredly. "How the hell did we end up here, Maura? This is so far beyond messed up."

Maura agreed entirely, so didn't interrupt him as he continued sadly. "I mean look at us. My sister is turning into a vampire. Her best friend is already a vampire, and is using her magic powers to suppress the pain of vampire venom, even though another psycho vampire staked her to a wall. And I'm trying to escape an inescapable giant metal cage before my sister wakes up and kills me."

Maura cleared her throat again, her voice still scratchy, and answered with complete sincerity and sorrow. "I don't think I'll ever be able to express just how remorseful I am, Frankie. No matter my intentions, you and your family have still been drawn into this world through your association with me. I am truly sorry for all of this, Frankie."

Frankie nodded slowly, then stood up, his hands fidgeting with the shirt. "Look, if this ends badly, I mean, if Jane…just make sure she knows I don't blame her, okay? If she wakes up and the inevitable happens, I know it won't be her fault. She won't be able to help it."

He walked away, wrapping the shirt around his mouth, almost making Maura miss his next mumbled sentence. "Just like you couldn't help it."

Maura felt an unexpected rush of joy flow through her at his words. She smiled softly, basking in the knowledge that Frankie understood her side, at least a little bit. It almost sounded like he didn't completely hate her anymore.

Frankie spent the next few hours busily digging, carefully moving piles of ash away from the end of the boiler. He only paused to drink sparingly from the bottled water Alec had left, one out of three large bottles. There would be enough to get Frankie through the three day wait comfortably, as well as an adequate amount of energy bars to keep his strength up.

The only problem was, if he was still inside the boiler after three days, he wouldn't be leaving alive, no matter how well-nourished he managed to remain.

The more Maura thought about Alec's motivations for bringing the food and water, the more she was inclined to believe he had intended this outcome, with the exception of his own death. He must have been watching them, or investigating them, or have been given information from his sister, in order to know who to take for leverage against Maura. He may have also realised that Maura hated being a vampire, and that she was vehemently opposed to anyone else she loved ending up the same way. Otherwise the current outcome was a staggering coincidence, as Maura honestly couldn't think of a worse way to punish her than to go after Jane.

After an unknown number of hours, Maura heard an exasperated yell from Frankie. Again, there were a few more minutes of agitated digging and scraping, before she heard him returning. He threw down the shovel in disgust, ripping off his face shield and plopping down as close to Jane as he could safely.

After chugging a huge gulp of water from the bottle, he finally looked at Maura. "Nothing. There's more rubbish down that end. It doesn't look like there's a way out."

Maura sighed, having expected this result. It fit too well with Alec's vindictive nature, if her suspicions about his intentions were correct. He had ensured that Jane would turn, that Frankie would be trapped in here with her, and that Maura was helpless to do anything but watch as her friend mindlessly murdered her own brother.

Frankie sighed as well. "It's okay, Maura. We just got dealt a losing hand."

Maura struggled to keep calm, fighting against her guilt and misery to ensure she continued to send good, pain suppressing emotions to Jane. She noticed Jane frown and squirm slightly, and redoubled her efforts, determinedly pushing her fears for Frankie to the back of her mind and instead focussing on the memory of Jane enjoying their first run through the city at vampire speed. Jane settled as Maura relived the joy and optimism she had felt in that moment, one of the first truly fun moments she'd experienced as a vampire.

Frankie muttered something about needing sleep, before grabbing all the spare clothing they had and settling on the ground. He tossed and grumbled for several minutes before finally finding a suitable position and drifting into a fitful sleep.

Maura found herself alone, and decided to create a mental loop of her happiest memories to ensure the flow of positive emotions. She was starting to feel a sort of mental strain from using her abilities continuously, but she was determined to persist until either Jane woke up or she passed out, something she wasn't even sure was possible. She really had no idea of the potential consequences of overusing her powers, but under these circumstances she felt that was a minor concern.

Frankie had been asleep for several long, lonely hours, the silence deafening in its oppressive stillness, when Jane suddenly jerked. Maura frowned in alarm, checking her mental state and feeling sure that nothing had changed.

Jane jerked again, her face contorting in pain. Frankie woke suddenly when Jane shrieked, her right arm grasping at her left shoulder.

Frankie half jumped up, grabbing the wall to steady himself as he tried to understand what had happened. "Maura? Are you okay?"

Maura was starting to panic, desperately trying to hold onto her emotional control while answering him. "I don't think it was me! I think something's wrong!"

Frankie's eyes whipped back to Jane, and he approached her carefully, ready to jump back if she suddenly swung a limb in his direction. A flash of horror crossed his face when he got a good look at Jane's arm. "Maura, it's her arm! The metal screws and plates are being pushed out or something!"

Maura gasped in shock, and she felt her control of her emotions slip, allowing fear to dominate her mind. She immediately released Jane, not wanting to accidentally inflict more pain due to the negative emotions. Jane screamed again, her whole body convulsing as the full brunt of the venom's agony returned.

Frankie jumped back, looking at Maura pleadingly. "Maura, what do I do?"

Maura gaped for a few long moments, before answering shakily. "If you can get close to her, try to pull the pieces out. There's nothing we can do to stop the process, but you might be able to speed it along. But be careful."

He nodded, his face going pale at the thought of the task before him, but he gritted his teeth and prepared to approach Jane's thrashing body. He studied her movements for a few moments, before lunging forward, almost tackling her and crushing her torso beneath his. He managed to situate himself facing her arm, and shot his hand forward, grabbing onto the first piece of metal he could see.

Jane redoubled her screaming as soon as he touched her, trying unconsciously to throw him away with all her strength. Frankie held on, however, and soon Maura could hear pieces of metal being tossed away from the scuffle. She couldn't see what was happening, but it seemed as though Frankie was succeeding. After a few minutes of wrestling, Frankie suddenly threw himself off Jane, scurrying away from her as fast as he could. His hands were covered in bloody smears, but he seemed to be uninjured.

Maura had used the time to centre herself, and immediately resumed her pain suppression efforts as soon as Frankie was clear and she could re-establish a steady line of sight. Jane stopped thrashing around, her body stilling once again.

Frankie groaned in exhaustion, wiping his hands on his pants as he tried to get his breath back. "Okay, I'm done helping."

Maura smiled at the attempt at humour. "Well, I think you've probably earned a power bar after that, detective."

She saw Frankie grin for a few moments before he pushed himself up, slowly trudging back to the backpack. He rummaged through the contents, settling on an acceptable flavour to try before sitting back on the ground.

The next few days passed slowly. Frankie dug out the whole length of the boiler, discovering rubbish and debris under all the ash at the bottom. After he finished the last section, he admitted defeat, throwing his makeshift shovel away and settling in to wait. He kept up sporadic conversation with Maura throughout the days, both of them trying to keep the mood light as they waited for the inevitable.

Their conversation had erased any remaining tension or hostility between them, with their banter returning to the gentle and respectful exchanges that had been common before either of them had heard of vampires. Frankie started sharing heart-warming and funny stories about his and Jane's early years, even getting Maura to laugh a few times. She had shared some of her more cheerful memories in return, leaving out her lonely early years and focussing on the good times. Both of them carefully avoided any discussion of their situation, as they knew all options for changing the outcome had been explored.

Frankie, being human, had needed to sleep a few times, so Maura had ended up with plenty of time alone to think. She kept up her cycle of memories, but there was a nagging voice at the back of her mind demanding that she analyse and explain the deep hatred she had unleashed in order to access the ability she was currently using. Maura had thought back over the whole experience, trying not to focus on the feelings, but more to work out why she had needed such a huge emotional battering ram to access the abilities in the first place.

She realised that it had felt like her mind had quarantined the other abilities, almost as if it was trying to protect the rest of her mind from being overwhelmed. It was hard to tell in the current situation, as she was still using her abilities constantly in addition to being gravely injured physically, but it felt as if something was off, perhaps damaged, in her mind. It was something she felt the need to explore further, but she resisted the urge in favour of focussing on helping Jane.

Maura couldn't risk taking her eyes off Jane in order to keep up the pain suppression, which meant she had no choice but to watch every moment of her friend's transformation. Jane's skin gradually paled, the pores disappearing and the miniscule flaws evening out. Gradually her pulse became invisible beneath her skin as the flesh hardened and became as impervious as marble. The scars on her neck and hands faded away, leaving only the faint outline of Alec's teeth on her throat. Her hair thickened and darkened, the striking black a stark contrast to her complexion. Although Jane had remained relaxed and stopped moving in pain, Maura could see the strength building beneath the surface. The proud detective had turned into a deadly predator.

Maura felt her energy starting to wane significantly after Jane started to visibly change, but she didn't allow her resolve to waver. She was determined to keep the worst of this experience from Jane if possible, and she wasn't going to let something like mental fatigue get in her way. Her voice had remained raspy for days, and Maura was starting to suspect that the damage done by Alec's venom was permanent. Frankie had noticed her discomfort, croaky voice and fatigue, which had led to him checking on her well-being every few hours, but she stubbornly refused to admit how weak she felt.

At some unknown hour on the third day of their confinement, Jane suddenly arched off the floor without warning, her hands grasping at nothing. Her breathing kicked up in intensity, and Maura could hear her heart beating frantically fast. She knew it was time.

Frankie had figured it out too, and stood up warily. His eyes were fixated on Jane, his expression an odd mix of fascination and disgust.

As Jane gasped her last breaths, Frankie glanced at Maura with determination. "Maura? You remember what I said, right? You'll tell her?"

Maura nodded jerkily, dropping her influence again as her apprehension and sadness took over momentarily. "I'll tell her. You know she loves you, right? We both do. You're a wonderful brother, and friend. You're a great man, Frankie. Angela would be so proud of you."

Frankie had tears in his eyes as he met her gaze fiercely. "I think she'd be proud of all of us. And she'd forgive you for everything. So do I. I want you to know that, Maura, I do forgive you."

From Frankie's generous words, Maura found the strength and bittersweet happiness to help Jane through the last moments of her transition, despite her flagging energy reserves. Frankie saw the effort she was expending on Jane's behalf, and moved next to Maura, his hand finding hers in a comforting gesture.

He turned back to Jane, his voice soft and tender. "I forgive you, Janie, for anything you might do. I know you, you'll try your best to do right. You're the best big sister a guy could want. I love you, sis."

Jane breathed one last time. Maura heard her heart shudder, then stop.

The room fell deathly silent.

Jane's eyes opened.