AN: Thank you all for the warm feedback, favorites, and alerts. And I'm sorry for the long delay of this chapter. Thank You. Happy Reading :)
Disclaimer: I don't own R&I and the song.
Chapter 22
"Will you stay awake for me?
I don't wanna miss anything
I don't wanna miss anything
I will share the air I breathe
I'll give you my heart on a string
I just don't wanna miss anything."
~ Awake by Second Hand Serenade
Maura did all her best to keep her mind off the uneasy feeling she felt since Jane left. No, right when she was watching Jane leave her office. She kept her mind busy with work. She even took some time to meditate. She performed the inhale-exhale exercise like she always does when she feels nervous. It helped. It calmed her down a bit. But the nagging feeling didn't leave her heart entirely. Should she call Jane? Should she check on her? No. Jane doesn't like to be disturb when she's on a mission. It's mot a good call. Not a good move. Should she send Frankie to Jane and Korsak's location? No. Frankie might be with them right now. What should she do?
Maura looked at her watch and noticed it's already four in the afternoon. Several hours had passed and she didn't get any updates from either Jane or Korsak. Should she start to worry? But having no calls mean they are probably alright, right? Right. And it was never Jane's forte to give updates to her. Maura sighed and call it a day. She informed Susie she'll go home since she couldn't concentrate on her work anyway. She'll just start preparing for her date with Jane later. Date. Jane. Maura couldn't still believe that those two words will be put in one sentence. She smiled, realizing that officially, she will go on a date with Jane. Her best friend. Her detective. Her lover. Her girlfriend. Her soulmate. Gathering her wits and thoughts, as well as her things, she left her office.
Jane and Korsak had been sitting inside the cruiser for several hours, waiting for the appearance of Patrick Sullivan or his wife Dana. But they couldn't find any sign of them. Jane's starting to get itchy and impatient of their situation. If Jane is anything, being patient is not one of her best traits. She doesn't like to be kept waiting. But she has to or she will lose everything she and Korsak worked on. She looked at the dashboard to check what time it is and noticed it's already past four. She remembered her date with Maura. Could she make it in time? Or should she call Maura and tell her about the situation now? That she had been sitting all day waiting for the couple to make an appearance and that she may never make it in time. Should she cancel?
Korsak noticed Jane's antics and being older than her and a father figure to Jane, he put his hand on her shoulder.
"You got somewhere else to be?" He asked, knowing Jane's answer.
"I have a date with Maura. Tonight. I think I should call her to tell her that I might cancel it." Jane said.
"Well, you can go and I'll continue the surveillance here." Korsak offered.
Jane's eyes widened. "And leave you here? Are you crazy?"
"Well, I know how important your date with Maura is. So I don't mind taking it from here." Korsak replied like he was just talking about the weather.
"I won't deny that my date with Maura is very important. I even thought of what we will do tonight..." Jane paused as she saw the grin on Korsak's face. She knows what he's thinking. "Don't even try picturing it, dirty old man." Korsak held his hands up. "But this is work, Korsak. This is important too. And Maura understands how important my work is to me."
"I know. And you're so very good at it. You're one of the few great detectives BPD has. And I know Maura understands you."
"Yes. Maura, she is... incredible. One of a kind." Jane replied with a smile.
Korsak nodded as a smile graced his lips also. And just as Korsak lifted his head to meet Jane's gaze, he saw a movement from the abandoned warehouse they had been watching since morning. And there was a gun. A gun holstered in the man's hips. Korsak studied the feature of the man and confirmed that it was indeed Patrick Sullivan. At least, the tip wasn't bogus.
"Jane, I think that's our man."
Jane looked up at the direction where Korsak is looking. "Yeah, Korsak. That's him." Jane got off the vehicle as well as Korsak at the other side of the door.
Slowly, the two approached their target. And once they were inches away from Patrick Sullivan, Jane held out her gun and pointed it at him. "Boston Police."
Everything happened in slow motion just like in action movies. Well, that was just according to Jane. Patrick stopped walking but never looked back. They all heard a click and as alert, as Jane and Korsak were, they held up their guns the moment Patrick turned around. The gunshot was too loud. Too loud for Jane's ears. The birds flew and she heard a thud.
"Korsak!" Jane exclaimed as she saw her partner lying on the ground. She even saw blood gushing from him as Korsak gripped his left arm.
"Catch him, Jane!"
"But..."
"Go!"
Torn between helping her friend and fulfilling her duty, Jane finally decided on the latter. After all, it wasn't that bad what Korsak got. Turning on her heels, she ran as fast as she could leaving her friend out.
She found him trying to escape in an alley. As soon as Jane saw Patrick, adrenaline rushed through her and she quickened her steps. "Boston Police!" Jane made a shot but she missed. "Damn it!"
Finding a shortcut, Jane went with it and at the end of the path she took, she was met by none other than Patrick Sullivan. "Stop or I'll shoot you!" Jane warned.
The only response Jane got was a smirk then there were gunshots. Two gunshots at least. Blood all over the ground.
Just like that, the picture frame of Maura and Jane fell on the ground. Glass was shattered in pieces. Maura was brushing her hair when her elbow accidentally touched the frame. Maura isn't one of the people who believe in bad luck or superstitious belief. But right now, right at that moment, she felt her entire body ran cold. Her palms began to sweat and her heart started to race. She knew right then, something happened. She just hopes it wasn't that bad.
Looking at the shattered pieces of glass on the floor, Maura grabbed her phone and dialed Jane's number. It rang. But Jane didn't pick up until it went to voice mail. She tried calling Jane again to no avail. Then Maura decided calling Frankie. Thank God he picked up on the third ring.
"Maura? What's up?" Frankie greeted his usual greeting.
"Hello Frankie. Do you know where Jane and Korsak are?" Maura asked without beating the bush.
"Well, I have the address. Why?"
"I need to have it. Can you send it?"
"Sure. But what's going on Maura?"
"Just tell me, please, Frankie." Maura almost pleaded.
Maura knew what she's about to do isn't good. It may ruin Jane's and Korsak's investigation. But she won't butt in. She just needed to make sure Jane is okay. And as soon as she sees her, she will leave immediately.
"Okay. I'll text you the address." Frankie finally said.
"Thank you, Frankie."
Maura couldn't shake off that feeling. The feeling she felt when she watched her detective leave her office earlier that day. Maura had tried everything. She buried herself at work. Tried meditating and even left her office early so she could focus on preparation for her date with Jane. Jane. Date. Two words is one sentence. Something Maura still couldn't believe. When Jane asked her out for a date, she had a huge smile plastered on her face. Now, thinking of it, she felt her stomach in knots. As if someone is twisting it. Would they make to their first official date without hindrance?
Staring at the broken pieces of glass, as Maura waited for Frankie's text of Jane's whereabouts, her phone suddenly rang. That familiar ringtone she would recognize anywhere. Maura's heart skipped a beat. She knew what was coming next. Slowly, Maura answered the phone and held it on her ear.
"Isles."
Maura found herself that evening in the hospital waiting for Jane's and Korsak's recovery. They said the bullet has an exit wound, meaning Jane won't bleed internally. And that it was only Jane's left shoulder was the only one shot. It was luck that the suspect didn't shot her at the head or heart. Thank God or Maura wouldn't know what she will do if something bad happened to Jane. The doctor said, there was no internal organ has been damaged. Just broken bones. Maura sighed for like a hundredth time that afternoon as she gazed down at Jane, sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened. As if she hadn't been shot.
Angela, who is with Maura in Jane's room, patted the good doctor on her shoulder. "She will be fine," Angela said calmly.
Maura looked up at her and smiled weakly. "I know. I know Jane can make this. Actually, I was glad that it was only her shoulder that had been shot."
"Then why do you look like someone has stolen your puppy?"
Maura sighed again. "You know I'm not the one who believes in superstitious belief. I am a daughter of Science, therefore, I only deal with facts." Maura waited for Angela to say something and when the matriarch remained silent, Maura continued. "Earlier, in my office, Jane told me they have to go somewhere to pursue a lead, and as I watched her leave my office, I had this feeling that isn't good. It got to my nerves. But I shook it off and buried myself in work and tried to forget it. Then when I was combing my hair in my room, our picture fell off the floor and shattered into pieces. People say it was bad luck."
Angela reached out for Maura's hands and squeezed them lightly. "You know Maura, there are occurring things that we can't explain. Even Science can't explain it. What you had were guts. You love Jane that's why you had this feeling. It's normal, Maura. Me, as their mother, sometimes has that kind of feeling, too. You can't help it especially explain it."
"I should've told her not to go."
Angela shook her head. "No. You wouldn't do that. You know how much Jane loves her job. And I know you're not like the other people who will chastise Jane for doing what she loves. And we both know Jane. She will never stop until she gets to the bottom of everything." This time Angela smiled at Maura.
"Yes, that is Jane."
"And look at the bright side. She finally caught the suspect to this case. They can put this case to rest."
"Yes and Lily Sullivan will have justice as well as the others he killed," Maura added and Angela nodded.
"Why don't you go home first? Have something to eat. And have some rest. Jane is already stable anyway." Angela offered.
Maura shook her head. "No. I want to be here when she wakes up."
"I get you. But you have to stay healthy. Look at the time."
"I know. But..."
"I promise I'll call you when she wakes up."
Maura was hesitant at first. But when she felt exhaustion overcome her body, she finally gave in. "Promise me you'll call no matter what the time is."
"I promise."
Maura gathered her things and stood up. She looked down at the peaceful figure of Jane then kissed her on the forehead before leaving.
Two hours had passed after Maura left when Jane finally woke up. Both Angela and Frankie were there waiting for her to come back to earth.
"Hey, honey." Angela smiled at her daughter.
Jane smiled back but her eyes were still droopy. "Hi, ma." When Jane adjusted her focus she looked for the only person she wants to see. Maura. "Where is Maura?"
"I sent her home."
"You did great there, sis. We were able to catch Patrick Sullivan." Frankie chimed in.
"How's he?"
"Well, he was in recovery like you and Korsak and after he recovers, he will be in our custody. You did a great shot. You incapacitated him but did not kill him." Frankie said with a huge smile on his face.
"Okay children, enough of talking about work. Frankie, go call Jane's doctor and Maura." Angela ordered and Frankie obeyed leaving his mother and sister alone.
"Is Maura mad?" Jane asked once she and her mother were finally alone.
"No honey, she's not. She was just too worried as I am, too."
"I'm sorry."
"Well, it's part of your job. We can't help it, can we?"
Jane sighed. "Maura and I were supposed to be on a date tonight." Jane blurted out.
Angela's eyes widen in delight. "Really? I didn't know that."
Jane smiled at her mother. "Well, I asked her the night we came back from Maine. It was supposed to be tonight. Our first official date."
"Well, after your recovery, you can still do that."
"Yeah, after everything. I just hope she's still up for it."
"She is."
Jane felt her eyes dropping again, later on, she fell asleep again. She wanted to wait for Maura because she knew her brother called her. But the medication they injected in her was too strong and she can't help but fall asleep again.
She felt her hair was being caressed by someone. And the feeling is too familiar. Too familiar it makes her want to sleep even further but as she finally realized who was doing the deed, Jane opened her eyes and was met by a pair of hazel eyes. Maura Isles is smiling down at her.
"Hey," Jane greeted hoarsely. She tried to shift her position but Maura prevented her.
"Hey, there. Don't try to move. Just stay still." Maura softly ordered. "I tried to come here as fast as I can when Frankie called me and say that you're already awake."
"I'm sorry. Maybe the medication was too strong so I fell asleep again."
"That's understandable. And that's okay. You need your strength back."
Jane smiled at her then it faded when she realized something. "I'm sorry about our date."
"Sshh. It's okay, Love. We can still reschedule it. For now, get better."
"You mean, you still want to be with me?"
Maura frowned. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Because of my job? And I'm constantly in danger."
"I'm pretty aware of that. And I told you I wouldn't change it. And it doesn't mean, I will leave you because of it." Maura wholeheartedly said. "You're not getting rid of me now, Jane Rizzoli."
"You're a good person, you know?"
"And so are you."
"And I like the fact that I'm not getting rid of you because as you like it or not, you're not getting rid of me now, Maura Isles." Jane grinned. That same grin she always flashed.
"I like that thought as well." Maura leaned in to kiss Jane on her forehead. Then she lowered to capture the detective's lips in a slow dance of kiss.
A minute or so, Maura reluctantly pulled from the kiss.
"I missed that," Jane muttered.
"Well, get better and there'll be more to come," Maura replied as she waggled her eyebrows.
Jane faked a gasp. "I never thought you're that flirty, Dr. Isles."
"Well, there are lots of things you need to know more about me, Detective Rizzoli," Maura replied flirtatiously. The two laughed and as soon as it died, silence fell over them though there are smiles on their faces.
"Stay with me," Jane said.
"I will. Always will."
"Love." Was the last word Jane said before she falls asleep again.
We're nearing end guys!