A/N: So I felt bad about chapter 3 but I needed to get into Jane's head further to progress the story a bit and that was the only way I knew how. I spent most of last night and this morning typing and polishing chapter 4 to (hopefully) make up for chapter 3. Here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

After having spent all of Monday in bed Jane was wide awake at five am on Tuesday. She was itching to do something. Her arm was still a little sore but she felt good. She wasn't as tired, her head was clear. She didn't feel so overwhelmed, she wasn't drowning anymore. At five thirty her cell phone started ringing. The context of the ring tone took a minute to hit her ears, it was the funeral march. Her eyes snapped open. Maura. In her haste to get the phone off the nightstand she ended up knocking it off. She flung herself at the floor trying to pick up before it stopped ringing. "Maura." She said breathlessly into the speaker. She was half on the bed and half off using her right hand to hold her upper body and her left the phone.

"I'm so sorry, Jane. I – I shouldn't have called. We're not speaking. You – you said you need time. And I just…" Jane's brows furrowed. She could hear Maura crying on the other end. "They won't let me leave, Jane! They won't let me leave unless I have someone and I – I have no one. I have no one, Jane!"

Jane picked herself up off the floor and bed. She hated hearing Maura cry. "Where are you?" As a detective she learned you have to go with the big questions first, then the details.

"Boston Memorial."

Jane stopped her mad dash to find clothes. Her breath caught in her chest. "What?"

"The hospital, Jane." There was a pause. "Where everyone goes."

Jane took a deep breath steadying herself for the next question. "Do you need clothes?"

There was a beat before Maura answered. "Yes."

Oh God, Jane thought. "Okay." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay. Don't go anywhere, Maura. I'm on my way. Stay. Put." She reiterated before hanging up the phone. Spinning around once quickly in her bedroom she remembered where they had put Maura's clothes. Maura had left some yoga pants and a sweater from the last time she had spent the night eons ago. Would she need underwear? Probably. Jane's stomach flopped to the ground at the thought. Once she had a small pile of clothes for Maura she started putting her own clothes on. She threw her baggy t-shirt off and replaced it with a sports bra and a white tank top then pulled on a pair of running shorts. Forgoing socks she slipped her running shoes on. Hastily she shoved her badge and gun into her purse grabbed her keys and ran out of the house. By the time she was seat belted in her car with Maura's clothes riding shotgun the time on the car read five thirty eight.

The whole ten minute drive to the hospital Jane's thoughts ran wild. Thoughts of crime scenes, home invasions, mob hits, and angry prisoners sprinted through her head. Maura had been crying and she needed new clothes. God, what if… She caught herself thinking No. She gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could. Nope, you will not go down that road Jane. You will not. If it did happen you will cross that bridge when you come to it.

Finally she pulled into the hospital parking lot. She jammed her car into park, grabbed the clothes and her purse and sprinted for the door. "Dr. Maura Isles, where?" Jane rushed coming to a skidding halt in front of the reception desk.

The woman barely looked up, knowing who Jane was instantly. "Down the hall second door on your right. Glad you used the front door this time, Detective." The nurse said. "You should really be wearing that sling!" She called Jane as a second thought as the detective ran down the hall.

Jane stopped in front of the closed door. She took a deep breath to brace herself. Don't freak out. Whatever you do don't freak out. She knocked on the door, and stepped in. Her eyes immediately landed on Maura. Looking at the doctor she felt her own eyes well up with tears. Maura looked so small lying in the white hospital bed. She was wearing a hospital gown. Jane wasn't used to seeing other people as hospital patients. Sure, she had friends who were injured on the job but they were stubborn like her. They'd tell the doctors to stitch it up or snap it back and be back in the box to drill their suspect. They only stayed if it was serious or if they didn't have a choice. That's when she would visit. She was more used to being the one in the hospital. Her eyes traveled to the brace on Maura's left wrist to the ace bandage wrapped around her ankle to the cut that was bleeding through the gauze on her eyebrow to the bruises and scrapes that lined Maura's knees and shins. "God, Maura what happened?"

"Jane," Maura said shocked. "You came."

"Of course I came." Jane said slightly offended. "You call in the middle of the night saying you're in the hospital of course I'm coming." She stepped further into the room. She put her purse and the clothes on one of the chairs. She stood next to the bed. Reaching out she put a stray hair behind Maura's ear. "Tell me what happened, please Maura."

Maura dropped Jane's gaze. "It's morning, Jane." The detective rolled her eyes. "I – I was out for my morning run. I had headphones in. I wasn't paying attention." Maura started tearing the tissue she was holding into tiny pieces. Jane smiled sadly taking the torn tissue away and replacing it with her hand. Maura squeezed. "I was looking at my watch and a cyclist ran into me."

Jane blinked twice. "Excuse me, what?" She took a step backwards to resurvey Maura but still held her hand. Suddenly her heart felt lighter. She wanted to laugh. "You got hit by a biker." Jane said trying to conceal her grin.

"This isn't funny." Maura said pouting her bottom lip out.

"I know it's not Maura." Jane sighed. "I was just thinking worse thoughts."

"Oh." Maura's replied. "I apologize if I gave off the wrong impression Jane. If that's the only reason you came…" Maura started pulling her hand away from Jane's.

"Don't be stupid." Jane held tighter. "I'm not going anywhere." She said looking into Maura's hazel green eyes. She could never decide what color they were. Maura's eyes were always changing colors it seemed from brown to gold to hazel to green. "So, what's the damage doc?"

Maura's eyes softened. She caught the detective's double meaning. She pointed to her eyebrow. "Four stitches. Two bruised ribs." Then she pointed to her left hand. "Moderate to severe wrist sprain." She looked down at her legs. "Several cuts and bruises and an ankle sprain."

"Wow." Jane grinned. "You must be feeling bad because I understood all of that."

"They gave me morphine and I thought the best approach would be straight forward." Maura looked up at Jane. "I can give you a full and complete rundown in my Google speak as you like to call it if you want." She said cracking a half grin.

Jane narrowed her eyes. "That won't be necessary. So all that from a bike, huh?" She asked raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Well," Maura started. "A bike and an approximately one hundred sixty pound man."

Jane chuckled as the nurse walked in. "She can get discharged today right?"

The nurse looked up at her. "As long as she has someone to watch over her for the rest of the day, yes."

"Great!" Jane said. "I can do that. You have any papers for me to sign?" The nurse nodded her head and left the room to get the documents.

"Jane," Maura let go of her hand. "You don't have to do this. You're mad at me. You need time. We're not talking. And I –"

"Don't be stupid." Jane grabbed her hand again. "How about we put you some clothes on?" Maura nodded her head. The medical examiner, she found out, did not need new underwear and the only reason she needed new clothes was because hers had gotten ripped by the concrete, the bike and the medical staff.

Jane helped Maura stand as she pulled her pants on and helped her pull first Jane's tank top and then her sweater over her head. The hospital gown lay forgotten on the end of the bed. Jane kneeled to the floor before sitting down cross legged on the floor with Maura's running shoes in her lap. She put the hospital socks with the rubber bottoms on Maura's feet. "What not going to complain about the poly cotton blend or polyester or whatever these things are made out of?" Maura just shook her uninjured right foot at her, clearly not amused. "Tough crowd." Jane slipped the shoe over the sock and tied it. She stood dusting her legs off. "We're just going to have to carry this one." She tossed the shoe on near her purse. The nurse came back into the room knocking on the door.

She told Jane all the 'come back to the hospital if's' and when Maura could take some more pain pills. Jane nodded listening to the woman's every word before signing the papers. Jane looked at the medical examiner. "Time to go home, Evil Kenevil." Thirty minutes later Jane parked in the front of her apartment. Ten minutes after that they finally got inside Jane's apartment.

Maura took a shallow breath as they entered the apartment. It smelled like home. With Jane's help she sat down on the sofa. Jane pulled Maura's legs so that they rested on the couch on top of a pillow. Jane was pacing around the living room. Maura put a hand over her face. "Will you stop, you're making me dizzy."

"You're probably going to catch Pneumonia from being in the hospital. Are you hungry? You should probably eat. I think I have orange juice. That helps with immune system stuff right? Yeah, it does I remember you saying that to me last time I had a cold. I'm gonna make you some coco puffs and orange juice. Ma just brought me groceries on Sunday. You need to eat." The brunette's words all came out in a rush. Before Maura could respond the taller woman was already in the kitchen. Maura let out a sigh. This was going to be a long day. She picked up her phone and called in to work while Jane was gone. At least that was one thing she could do.

Jane opened her fridge letting the cold air wash over her. Why was she so nervous? Without thinking she grabbed the full gallon of milk from her the shelf with her left hand. Almost as soon as she grabbed it she knew it was a bad idea. The muscles in her shoulder screamed, her hand felt almost numb and the whole gallon of milk slipped from her hand from muscles she couldn't control. The thin plastic of the bottle exploded with a thud on the wood floor and milk flooded everywhere. "Holy mother of –" She trailed off biting down on her lip hard. She grabbed her left arm. Right. Shoulder dislocation. "Oh my God that hurts." She hissed through gritted teeth.

Maura slowly sat up at the sounds from the kitchen. She stood hobbling over to the space in question. She saw Jane holding her arm standing in a puddle of white liquid. Under different circumstances the situation would have been funny. "Jane you should be wearing your sling."

Jane looked up narrowing her eyes. "What are you doing up?" She shouted. "Go sit down. You're going to make it worse."

Maura rolled her eyes, like Jane had any room to talk. "I'll only sit if you put your sling on."

"I will. I'm about to. So go sit." Maura glared at Jane before retreating slowly back into the living room and the couch. It took Jane almost twenty minute but she cleaned the mess in the kitchen up and put her sling on. She sat at on one of her stools in the kitchen.

Maura sighed heavily. "Why are you all the way in there, Jane?"

Jane's leg stopped bouncing momentarily. "I don't have a thousand chairs in the living room, Maura."

Maura pinched the bridge of her nose. Out of all the sides of Jane she had seen during their friendship, Passive Aggressive Jane was her least favorite. She removed her feet from the couch and grabbed her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling for a cab." She answered. "Clearly you don't want me here."

Jane growled. She strode across the room in four long strides. "Stop being stupid." She took the phone from Maura's hand.

"Stop insulting my intelligence, Detective." Maura glared at Jane.

"Stop insulting our friendship, Doctor." Jane glared back.

The honey-blond doctor broke eye contact first. Shaking her head she put her hand on her nose again. "God, I can't keep doing this." She took a moment to exhale heavily with her eyes closed. Then Maura stood from the couch in front of Jane. "I can't keep doing this, Jane. I just can't." She shrugged her shoulders at a loss. "I apologize for going to Africa and for shutting you out. I'm sorry I chose him. I'm sorry. I need you. I'm lost. So tell me what I need to do and I'll – I'll do it. Whatever it is, I'll do it." Unable to stand any longer Maura sat down on the couch with her head in her hands.

"You shouldn't be apologizing." Jane started pacing. "I shot Doyle."

"I know."

"No Maura." Jane said dropping her right hand down to her side. "Doyle is your dad! I shot your dad! You're my – my best friend. And I shot your dad."

"He pointed his gun at you." Maura sighed.

"Yeah, and I should've let him shoot me!"

"Jane!"

"I – I picked everything over you that day. I picked my job, my life, Frost, Dean, everything." Jane growled as she paced. "I know I did the sensible thing, okay. I know I was lawful but he's you're dad. And I… God!" She was crying again. "He didn't give me a choice and I hate him for it. I hate myself for it. I should have just taken the bullet." She dropped her chin to her chest.

Maura swallowed thickly. She stood grabbing Jane's hand guiding her to the couch. They both sat. "Doyle is my biological father. He didn't raise me. He didn't pick me. He held the identity of my birth mother over my head so that I would like him or accept him." Maura paused before continuing, this was so hard. "If he would have shot you, if you would have di…died I don't know what I would do with myself. If both of you shot at the same time and you got hit I – I would have gone to you." Maura swallowed her own tears dripping from her nose as images of the last time Jane was shot traveled through her head. She could go the rest of her life without seeing Jane bleed. Suddenly she hated Patrick Doyle. "I know you, Jane." Maura pulled the detective's chin towards her so she could look the taller woman in the eye. "You have got to stop blaming yourself for what happened. You have got to stop feeling guilty. It's – it's destroying you, Jane. It's destroying us." And it was. She didn't know if it was Catholic Guilt or Jane's need to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders but she hated it. Maura had never seen Jane's eyes look so sad. She had never seen Jane look so…so weak. The detective looked like she was done, defeated, and ready to throw in the white towel. This was not Jane Rizzoli.

She swallowed hard finally coming up with the right words to say. "Jane, neither of us has to apologize. We can just move on. The warehouse was an event that just happened. It was an unfortunate series of acts that many were involved in. Let's just move on. It happened. All it will be is a thing that happened that we moved on from. We can handle that."

Jane broke eye contact pulling away from Maura. "You deserve better."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Jane, look at me." Jane stared straight ahead. "Dammit Jane! Look at me!" Jane did as she was told. "In the letter you wrote you said I didn't know the impact I have on people. Well, you don't know the impact you have on people." The brunette was about to open her mouth to interject when Maura held up her hand. "If it weren't for you Tommy would be jail serving time for a murder he didn't commit. Frankie would be dead because I wouldn't have had the strength to help him. And me Jane, you've change me in more ways than I could ever even add up." Maura locked her eyes with the other woman's. "You stick up for me. You have since day one. No one has ever done that for me before. You – you brought me in on your club. You made me feel like I belonged somewhere for once in my life. You befriended a lonely, awkward woman and I can't thank you enough for that." She grabbed Jane's right hand. "So please hear me when I say that I don't deserve better because there is no one better. I love you, Jane. I forgive you. I need you in my life. I need you to forgive yourself. Can you do that?"

Jane sat in silence letting the words sink in. She was so tired of fighting so tired of taking on the world on her own. She had to stop punishing herself. "Yeah." The word was barely a whisper, barely a breath loud but Maura heard it loud and clear.

Relief washed over her. "Good, because I've missed my best friend." She reached out pulling the taller woman close in a hug.

Jane grinned through tears wrapping her good arm around Maura. "I've missed you too, Maura."

After a moment of sitting on the couch with their arms wrapped around each other Maura interrupted. "Jane I'm hungry." The her stomach growled.

Jane laughed. "Right." She stood up. "Well cereal is out of the question. I think there might be some eggs or something I could make."

Maura laughed. "Sounds lovely." She looked around at Jane's walls. "Jane, you really should take these mugshots down."

Jane paused her walk midway to the kitchen. She looked around her apartment. She couldn't keep living like this. "Yeah, I will."

A/N: There's actually dialog! That's how it usually works isn't it? You're not friends and then something happens. They call and you show up because you still care. If I totally overshot and moved to fast feel free to let me know (but there was only so much more I could write about both of them wallowing in pity.)

Question for you all: I was going to end it there. Like done forever. But then I was thinking I could move it along to eventual Rizzles type thing? It would probably take a while because I have to think it through. I mean I still have an idea on where to end it. But yeah. Tell me what you think I should do. I'm perfectly fine leaving it here or moving forward.