Hi all!

Since it's my birthday about an hour from now, what better way to celebrate than with a new chapter!

Cheers to JaneyGWF as always!

I hope you enjoy, please as always let me know what you think!

Before Jane could respond, Maura abruptly disappeared. Jane's mouth fell open in shock, since she hadn't realised Maura had that power. She must have picked it up while the male Volturi was holding her back at the Cullen house.

Jane was still gaping when she felt a bruising shove to her chest, sending her flying through a tree and into the dirt.

She spat out a mouthful of moss and rocks, springing back to her feet with a curse. Maura was sneakier than she'd thought, but it wasn't over yet. Closing her eyes, Jane started to use her own power, the same power that had saved her life against the Volturi pyrotic. The energy vision cut through the illusion of Maura's invisibility, lighting her and the rest of the landscape up in colourful and exquisite detail. Jane could easily see Maura sprinting in for another punch, her expression confident but calm.

Jane spun and grabbed Maura's wrists, spinning her around and throwing her gracefully through the air. Maura spun as she hit the ground, managing to come out of the fall with momentum she could use. She grabbed a nearby tree, ripping it from the ground and tossing it at Jane in one smooth motion.

Lunging to the side, Jane managed to avoid the tree, but suddenly found herself frozen in place. Betty's power. She was still using her energy vision, so she could clearly see Maura moving behind her, ready to grab her and wrestle her to the ground.

Unwilling to lose, Jane readied her last resort. Jane knew from experience that Maura couldn't mentally restrain her and touch her at the same time, so she'd have a brief opportunity. She focused her attention on a log about ten metres to her right, hoping it would be far enough away. As soon as Maura released her mental hold, the log started to glow, and Jane internally winced at what she was about to do.

The log exploded, showering them both in moss, wood and dirt. Maura instinctively let go of Jane and covered her face, also pushing Jane away from the explosion. Her defensive move allowed Jane to immediately spin around, grabbing Maura by the shoulders and pinning her to the ground before she could recover.

Jane was about to lower her teeth to Maura's throat, not to bite but to show that the fight was over, when she was suddenly overcome with remorse and guilt. She released Maura's shoulders and opened her eyes, about to apologise.

She realised Maura was still invisible and had rolled away from her at the same moment the artificial guilt disappeared. Before she even had time to close her eyes and find Maura again, she felt a harsh shove under her shoulder blades, and found her face in the dirt yet again. Maura's knee was in her back, her hands were being held down to the ground, and she could feel Maura's teeth on her neck.

With no small amount of shock, Jane realised she'd lost.

Without even needing her most devastating offensive ability, the painful torture glare she'd gotten from Jane the Volturi, Maura had won. There was no sign of uncontrollable violence, no hesitation, just logical application of her powers and their environment until she found a way to beat Jane.

Before she could react, Jane felt the sensation of Maura's emotions infiltrating her mind again, the same power that had made her lose the fight. This time, there was no overwhelming guilt, but just an all access pass into Maura's state of mind. Jane could feel the turbulent outer layers of emotion, the uncertainty in her sense of self. She could feel the healthy dose of fear about the upcoming fight, and a small amount of self-doubt.

But below those surface emotions, Jane could feel Maura's essence. The core of Maura's being was steady and sure, not confused or hesitant. She obviously had worked out whatever issues had caused her to run, either during the conversation with Constance, the run back or during the fight. Whatever had happened, Maura was clearly determined, clear in her purpose, and resolved to see this through to the end.

As Maura's influence started to recede, Jane was swept up in the positive emotions starting to reassert themselves in Maura's head. She could feel the compassion she held for the Cullens, and the hybrids, and all the innocents that could be harmed if the Volturi weren't stopped. She felt the relief at regaining some control over her own mind, and satisfaction at mastering her vampiric powers enough to defeat Jane in a physical fight.

Finally, Jane felt the overwhelming love and loyalty Maura felt towards her and the rest of their family. She knew she was seeing the basic truth of Maura, the most important thing in her world, and Jane understood just how much Maura needed to protect those she loved. She realised how hurtful her earlier attempts to dissuade Maura from fighting must have been, but she could feel that she was already forgiven, since Maura understood her basic nature as well. They were both protective to a fault, and instead of fighting that, she needed to embrace it.

Jane felt Maura's mouth move from her neck to her ear, and heard Maura's steady rasp. "I'm not that scared little pathologist that needed you to save her all the time. I'm not broken. I'm someone who can take care of herself, and those who rely on me. I also understand that you're still the same Jane Rizzoli that always defends people, no matter the cost to herself. I think we both know who we are now. How about we stop trying to go on solo suicide missions, and just agree to protect each other?"

When Maura let her up, Jane rolled onto her back, looking up at her friend in amazement. Not only had Maura convincingly won the fight, but she had entirely obliterated any protest Jane had about her state of mind. There was no doubt over how far Maura was willing to go, or her capabilities. She was resolved, she was capable, and she was ready.

Maura was looking back with a cautious expression, obviously trying to figure out if Jane was angry. When Jane smiled genuinely, unable to stop herself feeling proud of the way Maura had handled herself, Maura returned it with relief. She offered Jane a hand up off the ground, and pulled her into a tight hug when she accepted.

Jane hugged Maura with no small amount of relief. She hadn't been quite sure if this little skirmish was a good idea, but in hindsight they had both needed it. Maura had shown both of them exactly what she was capable of, and it was impressive.

While it may be true that Jane hated to be wrong, she could admit it when it happened. She had been wrong about Maura, for a while now. It had seemed like she was teetering on the edge of sanity, of losing everything that made her Maura. Whether that was true or not, it was obvious now that Maura had won the battle. She may not have figured everything out about her new self, but the important stuff was in place. Control, purpose, loyalties, limits, bravery, love, it was all there in the Maura she now held tightly. Jane knew she had to stop underestimating her best friend, and instead give her the support and friendship she deserved.

Jane let go of a breath she hadn't meant to hold, and it felt good as she finally replied to Maura's question. "I think I can handle that agreement. We both protect each other. Nobody runs. Nobody dies."

Maura just smiled and hugged her harder. They both took a moment to soak in the implications of their little sparring match, and re-evaluate their view of the other. It had been a big few days, but it felt like an equilibrium had been reached, at least until the next earth-shattering event tried to break them once again.

When they finally broke apart, Jane grinned again before letting the seriousness of their situation sink back in. "So, I take it you still want to get into a fight with the Volturi?"

Maura nodded confidently, her whole demeanour appearing settled and committed. "I need to do this. For myself, for you, for everyone they've hurt, and for everyone we know they'll hurt if they aren't stopped."

Jane nodded in agreement, before sighing in resignation. "There's one person they've hurt that you don't know about. I didn't want to tell you before you'd decided if you were ready for this. Honestly I was hoping you'd find out after it was all over. I suspect Constance didn't say anything for the same reason. We wanted you to decide on your own if you wanted to help, not be pressured into it by obligation or guilt."

Apprehension was growing on Maura's face with every word Jane spoke. "Who is it, Jane?"

Jane took a deep breath, steeling herself before delivering the news. "According to Esme, the reason Constance was at the house was because of Hope. Since the ball, when Hope was exposed to Jasper's power, her health has rapidly declined. Her mind has been constantly assaulted by heightened emotions and harassment from her mental attacker, and it pushed her past the point where she could endure it. Constance had taken her to a few doctors, lying through her teeth about the cause of Hope's condition, but they had been unable to help. As a last resort, Constance got in contact with the Cullens in the hope that they could do something.

"They had been there for all of three hours when the Volturi attacked. Constance had been discarded as irrelevant, but Hope was taken. The fact that she had given birth to an extremely gifted vampire, as well as her own reactions to vampiric powers, must have made Aro think she was valuable. Esme thinks he'll try to turn her."

If vampires could go pale, Maura would have been whiter than a sheet, panic clear on her face. "Or they might try to use her to breed another hybrid! Jane, we have to get her back! Now!"

Jane nodded in agreement before pulling Maura with her back to the Cullens.

Emmett met them as the returned to the group, a huge grin on his face. "Were you guys fighting? I so wanted to come watch, but Esme said you might need privacy or something. Was it awesome? Did you film it?"

Jane shoved past the gleeful vampire, rolling her eyes for good measure. Rosalie gave him an indulgent yet exasperated smile, shrugging apologetically at Jane. Esme shooed him away, quietly asking Maura and Jane if they were alright.

When she was satisfied that neither of them were injured, she waved them over to sit with the other Cullens. The hybrids were all sitting together around a small fire that someone had built far enough away to be out of earshot, and seemed content for the moment.

Esme gestured to her phone, speaking quietly but seriously. "I managed to contact our friends. We have all the reinforcements we can muster coming to meet us. I think with their help, we should be able to match the Volturi for long enough to rescue our family and escape."

Jane cleared her throat to interrupt. "Esme, I'm sorry to have to push this, but we can't just distract the Volturi. We need to fight them, and we need to win. If we let them walk away from this fight, they will only get stronger. They will be back, and next time we might not be lucky enough to escape. We need to finish this, now."

Emmett looked enthusiastic in his agreement, and Maura nodded in resignation, but Rosalie and Esme looked unconvinced, so Jane continued. "Look, if we let them keep breeding hybrids and adding to their guard, they won't need to keep pretending their actions are to preserve the big secret. They can just take people whenever they like, and kill whoever they like, and they won't bother to be politically correct about it. Who knows, if their numbers increase enough, they might not care about the secret anymore. They might start killing humans out in the open. They might start World War Three, and we all know humans wouldn't come out on top of that fight."

Esme and Rosalie seemed to be coming around, so Jane launched into her plan. "I think we need to take out Aro and the other leaders. Probably most of the guard that have been there for a while too. Some of the new ones might be able to be convinced, but the rest are tied together emotionally, right? So they'll keep fighting together until the end."

Esme piped up with a clarification, still keeping her voice low so the hybrids wouldn't hear anything about battles and killing. "That means Aro, Caius, Marcus and Chelsea. Jane and Alec have already been taken care of, and the rest aren't leaders. Chelsea is the one who ties the Volturi together, so if we can destroy her we might break their bond and be able to convince some of the guard to see reason."

Jane nodded thoughtfully, but didn't interrupt as Emmett took over the strategizing. "We need to take out Renata as well. She's Aro's personal shield. Also we'll need to take out Felix and Demetri, they're too loyal to Aro. Also, Demetri can find people anywhere in the world, so if this all goes sideways and we need to run after all, we need to take him out so we can hide."

Maura looked unsettled at the implications of the numbers they were discussing, but contributed anyway. "Do any of them have mates? My understanding is that any mates of murdered vampires tend to become rather vengeful."

Esme made a small hurt noise at the mention of mates, so Rosalie hurriedly answered. "Aro and Caius both have mates, Sulpicia and Athenodora. Chelsea's mate is Afton, I believe you may have met him at the house. He can turn invisible, and make one or two other people invisible as well."

Maura shuddered slightly at the mention of the fight back at the burning Cullen house, and Jane put a comforting hand on her arm before continuing. "Okay, so it sounds like we need to take all of them out if we really want this to be over for good. Anything less and we'll either be running for the rest of our lives or dead. Agreed?"

The Cullens and Maura nodded, some with more reluctance than others. The group sat in silence for a few moments, thinking about the consequences of their decision, but nobody spoke up with either a protest or a better idea.

After a few minutes, Emmett cleared his throat to break the silence. "So, we have our targets, but do we know where to go? I mean, I guess at some point the Volturi will head back to Volterra. Do we think they'll go straight there, or wait here in the States until they have their new hybrids under control?"

Jane happened to glance at Maura when realisation spread over her features. "I think I know where they are. When Afton was running away from the house, I got a quick flash of his thoughts. I saw Aro, Afton was worried about explaining the death of the pyrotic guard to him. I also saw a small airfield, I think it was a private one owned by the Volturi. It's big enough for a plane that could fly to Italy. I can take us there, it's about an hour away at a vampiric run."

Esme cleared her throat painfully. "But what if they're already gone? They had several hours head start, they might have already left."

Rosalie and Emmett immediately rushed to Esme's side and pulled her into a crushing group hug, while Maura tried to assuage her fears. "I think there is a good chance they'll still be there. As Emmett said, they will want to have the hybrids bonded to the Volturi before they load them onto an aircraft. And they may decide to stay and deal with us, Afton will have reported our survival by now. It would be tactically unwise to leave us free, and the Volturi haven't served their purpose this long by leaving loose ends."

Esme nodded miserably, looking like she half believed them but couldn't quite shake her fear. Rosalie and Emmett both looked more enthusiastic, and smiled encouragingly at Esme in an attempt to pull her out of her funk.

Jane smiled, suddenly feeling more hopeful. "Okay, we have our target. How far away are your friends, Esme?"

Esme pulled out her phone and quickly read a message. "I think they can be here in three hours or so. They had a fair way to run, but they are also very fast."

Jane nodded and considered their options. "I think you and Rosalie should take the hybrids somewhere safe. They need to be looked after, and I suspect you two are the best suited."

The rage that crossed Esme's face surprised Jane in its intensity. "I am not staying behind. Those monsters have my husband, and I will not be leaving without him. Emmett can help Rosalie, but I'll be going with you."

Jane wanted to argue, but she was dissuaded by an urgent tug on her arm from Maura. At Jane's confused look, Maura simply shook her head and replied to Esme in her place. "I understand, Esme. I can feel how important this is to you. We won't stand in your way."

Esme breathed out in a huff, abruptly spinning around and walking back to the hybrids. Rosalie and Emmett followed her, and the Cullens started organising the hybrids for travel.

Jane looked at Maura questioningly, and Maura patted her arm before quietly replying. "I could feel how much she needs to be there. She'd go by herself and get killed if we tried to stop her. I know how she feels, I'd probably do the same if you went without me. Honestly Rosalie and Emmett feel the same, they love Carlisle and their siblings too, but they are putting their feelings aside so Esme can go instead of them."

Jane couldn't help comparing Emmett's towering stature with Esme's tiny frame and sighing in resignation, but she decided to defer to Maura's judgement. They watched as Emmett corralled the hybrids into a shaky line. Rosalie finished hugging Esme goodbye before leading the hybrids into the forest, with barely a glance back at Jane and Maura. Emmett picked up the still bound newborn, slinging him over a shoulder with no sign of strain. He merrily waved at Jane and Maura, before giving Esme a quick hug and following the last of the hybrids.

Esme sat down dejectedly as soon as the group were out of sight. Jane frowned sadly, realising how close the Cullens all were and how hard it must be to leave the rescue of their family to two almost strangers. But they had, in part because Jane and Maura were rescuing family as well. Only Hope was much more fragile than the Cullens, and could be killed much more easily.

Esme eventually pulled herself together and walked over to Jane and Maura. "I think we need to work out our strategy. I won't have anyone getting hurt unnecessarily. Maura, did you see enough in Afton's head to tell us the layout of the airfield?"

As Maura nodded and started drawing out a rough sketch in the dirt, Jane's strategic mind kicked into gear. She had planned many police raids over the years, and this was the same principle, simply with different combatants. She knew most of the players on both sides, and she knew her goals. She just had to arrange the pieces to ensure their side would win.

After a lot of discussion, a plan had formed and was becoming more plausible. Sharing a hopeful glance with Maura, Jane felt like they actually had a chance of getting out of this alive. It relied on a bit of luck, and there were plenty of unknowns, but there was definitely a chance.

When they had talked everything out as much as possible, Esme walked away again to find some solitude before they moved to meet her friends. Jane understood the need, she had often drifted away from her colleagues before a difficult operation in an attempt to clear her mind. In this case, however, she wanted to spend some quiet time just enjoying Maura's company. During the course of their planning, Maura had proved that she still ranked among the genius club, giving them many brilliant insights and ideas to use against Aro. Any chance they had was due to the combination of Esme's intimate knowledge of the Volturi, Jane's tactical skill and Maura's intellectually superior suggestions.

They had a difficult battle ahead, but as Maura leaned into her side to gain a small measure of comfort, Jane realised she was satisfied, if not exactly happy, with how things had turned out. She had a mission, she knew her allies, she knew how necessary it was to succeed, and she was certain of her path. After all the uncertainty, all the pain, all the grief and the guilt and the trauma, they were here. She knew Maura would stick by her side, as she would always protect Maura, and she knew whatever happened that they had tried their best. Their place had always been here, and it would always be here. Between the bad guys and the innocent rest of the world.

Together.