Title: Truth Love Dare
Category: TV Shows » Rizzoli & Isles
Author: Alwaysbringback-up
Language: English, Rating: Rated: M
Genre: General

Truth Love Dare

Pairing: Jane/Maura

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the R&I universe. All characters belong to Janet Tamaro. I promise that my writing is done purely for recreational purposes only. No ill harm is intended.

A/N: Here's the next chapter! It's another long one! Thanks for awesome response, you guys (and gals). I address some important stuff in this chapter.

"Yes," Maura replied, "She's awake, Mrs. Rizzoli."

Jane hadn't even realized her mother was there. But sure enough, Angela Rizzoli made her presence known as she threw back the blankets and stood up. Immediately, her mother started to fuss over her.

"Ma," Jane groaned. "Stop it. I don't need you to mother me for crying out loud. I'm a grown woman."

"How are you feeling?" Angela asked finally, as she looked over the monitors in the room.

"Like I've been shot," Jane choked out, "But I'm alive, so I guess that's got to count for something."

"That it does," Angela agreed. "You know, I should be angry at you for pulling something like this again. But I'm just so glad you're okay." Jane looked back to her friend. Her heart clenched painfully as her eyes fell on the gruesome gash located on Maura's forehead. It was bad enough that Maura had needed stitches. It looked bad enough to begin with, but the skin around it was raised and bruised, making it look even worse.

"Oh, Maur," Jane croaked, her hand squeezing Maura's. "You're hurt."

"It's nothing," Maura shook her head. "Just some minor scrapes and bruises."

"No it's not," Jane protested. "God, I'm so sorry." Maura was upset now.

"You're kidding me, right?" Maura spoke incredulously. "You were shot twice and still managed to save me. And now you want to blame yourself for a bump on my head?"

"It was my job to protect you, Maura," Jane swallowed thickly, feeling suddenly quite sick to her stomach at the thought of anything more happening to Maura. "And I failed… I screwed up."

"Jane, just stop it, okay? I really don't want to argue with you right now," Maura sighed, dropping Jane's hand. Jane frowned, sensing Maura's distress. "You know what? I'm sorry. I'm just really tired. I think I should just go… Now that I know you're going to be okay, I think I'm going to go home and clean up."

"Maura, wait!" Jane pleaded. "I'm sorry, okay? I…I didn't mean to upset you. Just stay with me for a while. Please!" Jane's voice cracked from disuse. She clearly did not want her friend to leave. But she'd clearly upset Maura already.

"I… I'll be back later," Maura promised, "You-You should really rest now." Maura's voice faltered as she said, "I'm glad that you're okay, Jane." Jane let out an exasperated sigh as Maura turned and walked from the room, leaving her alone with her mother.

"She's angry with me," Jane stated with another groan.

"You would be too, if you had been in her position," Angela replied. Jane let out a broken sigh. "You should have seen what that poor woman has gone through," Angela informed her. "She was bordering on hysterical when I got here."

"What happened?" Jane inquired; still not sure she was remembering things correctly.

"You don't remember?" Angela frowned.

"No, I do, it's just that I'm not really sure if I'm remembering everything correctly." Jane shook her head, but immediately regretted it when the room started spinning. The pain was still making it hard to breathe, and Jane closed her eyes as she tried to focus on something else. "The truth is that I… don't even know how long I've been out." Jane swallowed, looking around. "Ma, what day is it?"

"Friday," Mrs. Rizzoli answered without any qualms.

"Friday?" Jane repeated. "Okay, that's not bad."

"Not bad?" Angela said incredulously. "You've been out for over a week, Jane," Angela said softly.

"Wait, what?" Jane said in disbelief, "Hold on for a minute! Do you really mean to tell me, I've been unconscious for nine days?" The older Italian woman could see that Jane was in a state of disbelief. It was hard to lose time as Jane had. One minute, Jane was walking down the sidewalk with her friend. The other, Jane was waking up in a hospital bed with over ten days missing. She felt cheated.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Angela challenged with tears building in her eyes. "Janie, you seriously scared me half to death. I thought I was going to lose you all over again." Angela sniffled as she wiped away her own tears. "You can't keep doing this to us… to me and Frankie and Tommy and Maura." Jane's heart skipped a beat in her chest at the mention of Maura. Jane felt guilty for doing this to everyone again.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Jane breathed honestly, "But I'm okay now, Ma."

"But you could have just as easily not been," her mother argued, "You do get that, don't you? Janie, you-you lost so much blood." Her mother paused to take a calming breath. "For a while, the doctors thought that your brain might not have gotten enough oxygen, because of the magnitude of your blood loss. You were in a coma for a long time after the surgery." "You really remember everything?"

"I…I'm not sure," Jane grumbled. "I mean… I can remember bits and pieces of what happened, but everything is a jumbled mess. I remember sitting at the bar with Maura, and I remember leaving. I think we were walking to the car when it happened. All I know is we were followed, and someone started shooting. Ma, I'm so sorry I put you through this again."

"You'd better be," Angela Rizzoli said emphatically. "I really wish that you would consider another profession."

"For the last time, Ma," Jane groaned, "I'm not going to leave the force." Jane let out a labored breath. "Look," she sighed, "As crazy as it sounds, I actually like what I do. So could you just try to be proud of me?"

"Oh Janie," Angela sighed, taking Jane's hand in hers. "I am proud of you… so very proud of you. I just wish that you hadn't picked such a dangerous thing to do." A beat. "I worry about you. I don't mean to, but I just do. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one." Angela looked towards the door Maura had departed through only a minute ago. "Maura, the poor girl, is worried sick about you too."

"I know," Jane swallowed, "I can tell that she's still angry with me for it." Jane reached up to run a hand over her face. "So… Can you just tell me what happened?"

"Well," Angela sighed. "It's probably pretty obvious to you now, but you were followed by the suspect. Maura said you hesitated in pulling your gun, and because of it, the guy shot you. The first bullet perforated your stomach and punctured your spleen. The second was a through and through to your shoulder. You lost a lot of blood." Angela paused, to gather herself again. "The doctor who performed surgery said it was a miracle you pulled through. They had to remove your spleen though, because of the severity of your internal bleeding."

"Ah," Jane swallowed, as her throat suddenly grew very dry. She decided to try and bring some humor to the situation. "I thought something was missing when I woke up."

"Haha," Angela replied sarcastically, clearly not amused, "That's very funny, Jane."

"So… I take it that Maura stopped the bleeding?" Jane breathed painfully.

"That's just it," Angela spoke softly. "She tried, but your blood pressure plummeted and you stopped breathing. She tried, but she couldn't get you to come back. She did CPR to buy you some time, but when I got here, she honestly thought that you might not make it. She kept saying it was her fault. I tried to tell her it wasn't, of course, but she wouldn't hear it."

"It wasn't her fault," Jane asserted. "If I had just realized we had been followed, or if I had even just gone with my instincts, things would have turned out differently. I…don't know why I hesitated to be honest. I guess I just didn't want to shoot at someone and find out that I was wrong to do it, later."

"It's okay, Janie," Angela replied. "I understand."

"Where's Frankie?" Jane asked quietly.

"Investigating with Frost and Korsak," Angela replied. "They're still trying to figure out how many times the guy has done this before."

"Have they found anything?" Jane inquired. Her hands tightened into fists at her side, as she struggled to process everything. It still bothered her that she couldn't remember the details of the shooting or what had happened afterwards.

"Oh we found something, all right," Frankie announced as he strode into the room, looking quite handsome in a deep navy suit, complete with a dress shirt. He threw a flippant, "Hey, Janie," at his sister before dropping down into a chair with an exhausted sigh.

"What… That's all I get?" Jane whined. Frankie smiled, stood up, and placed a kiss to Jane's forehead. She closed her eyes as he briefly ran a hand through her hair, very much like Maura had done earlier. "I'm glad you're okay," he said truthfully as he pulled back and sat back down in the chair that sat next to Jane's bedside.

"So," Jane managed to speak in a weak and slightly raspy tone. "What did you find?"

"Well," he hedged, "You're not going to like it."

"Frankie," Jane sounded just plain annoyed now, "You don't have to sugar coat it, alright? I just want to know what you found." Frankie let out a sigh, raking a hand through his hair nervously. Jane knew it to be a nervous tick of his. It was either that, or he would tug at his sleeves.

"Korsak doesn't want you getting involved with this," Frankie sighed.

"Oh?" Jane's brows rose up on her forehead. "And why not?"

"You mean, besides the obvious reasons?" Frankie shot back. "Janie, you were shot! I understand that you want to, but you can't get involved with this one. Cavanaugh thinks that you're way too emotionally involved."

"You're damned right that I'm too emotionally involved," Jane hissed, letting her anger get the best of her. "He shot me! But that's not even the half of it. Jesus, Frankie, he could have… he could have hurt Maura."

"Janie, for goodness sake's," Angela cut in, "I raised you to be a good Catholic girl. Would it kill you to watch your language?"

"Sorry, Ma," Jane apologized flippantly. Jane took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She was feeling a lot of things at once, and had never been very good about sorting them out.

Frankie cleared his throat. "Look, Janie, I understand why you're upset. I really do. But me telling you this next bit is only going to upset you more."

"Tell me, what?" Jane challenged. Jane ordered. "Just tell me, Frankie!"

"Okay…" he sighed, relenting. "Jeff Gregory, was a serial rapist and murderer. He struck first in Montgomery, Alabama, and then hit four other cities before moving to Boston. The FBI is trying to verify how many victims there are, but we think it's close to 15."

"So he rapes women before he kills them?" Jane pondered aloud.

"There's a lot of psychology involved," Frankie spoke softly. "But yeah."

"Oh my god," a horrifying thought suddenly came to Jane.

"He didn't rape Maura, did he?" Jane cried out excitedly.

She was in complete shock. Jane pushed herself forwards into a seated position and yelped as she pulled at her stitches. Jane gasped for air, but the pain swelled up again, leaving her completely powerless. Jane's hand shot up to her side, as she tried to ease the white-hot, persistent throbbing that was there. Her breaths were suddenly stolen from her and she couldn't breathe. Frankie jumped up from his chair and quickly tried to help Jane lean back against the pillows.

"Oww… Oww…Oww," Jane breathed again as the pain flared.

"It's okay. It's all right," Frankie tried to soothe her. She grabbed his hand, and he grimaced as she nearly crushed the bones in it.

"Ugh, it hurts." Jane gritted her jaw. It wasn't like her to admit to being in pain, but she couldn't help it. It was excruciating.

"Janie?" Angela's worried voice echoed around the small room. The lights were dimmed, but Angela Rizzoli could see the raw agonized pain in Jane's brown eyes. Panic etched its way onto Frankie's features, as his eyes fixated on a small blot of red on Jane's gown. When his sister hurt, he hurt. She'd been there to hold his hand when he'd been shot. She'd coached him through it, and for that he would always be grateful. He could only hope that he could help her through it. Frankie focused on the spot.

At first it was only the size of a dime, but by the time they called in the nurse, it had roughly the circumference of a baseball. Jane clenched her jaw together as the nurse threw back the thin blanket covering Jane and lifted her gown up to reveal the large bandage. She clicked her tongue in displeasure as Jane howled in pain.

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"Oh dear," she said with a look at Frankie and Angela, "She tore her stitches."

"Great… That's just…" Jane forced herself to swallow her next words. Jane started to mutter underneath her breath. It just figured something like this would happen to her.

As Maura stepped off of the elevator, she heard quite a bit of noise coming from down the hall. She'd gotten into her car more determined than ever to just go home, but when it came down to it, she just couldn't bring herself to leave. The sadness in Jane's eyes when she'd announced her departure weighed quite heavily on Maura's conscience. She didn't want to leave Jane, no matter how infuriating and oblivious that the detective could be.

It wasn't until Maura neared Jane's room that she realized that the root of the commotion that she had noted only moments earlier was in fact coming from Jane's room. Maura's imagination quickly ran wild, and all of Maura's worst fears came rushing back to the front of her mind. With her heart racing, Maura jogged past the last few rooms, and into Jane's room. Chaos had ensued inside. Several nurses were gathered around Jane's beside, while Jane's mother and Frankie stood off to the side, looking distressed.

"What happened?" Maura asked worriedly, her hand still clutching her coffee tightly. Maura's eyes flashed back and forth, struggling to make sense of what was happening. Her eyes quickly fell onto the nurse was holding a bandage to Jane's side. Maura noted how it quickly became saturated with Jane's blood, and Maura suddenly felt like she might become ill. Maura dropped her coffee onto the counter, and rushed to help.

"Jane tore her stitches," Angela announced. Maura's stomach sank. The brunette had her eyes squeezed shut as if her life depended on it, and looked very pale. Maura looked to the pile of used bandages, and was forced to choke back bile.

"Here," Maura stepped forwards, taking over. "Help her get the supplies she needs. I'll keep pressure on it." Jane's eyes fluttered open as she recognized the soft tone of Maura's voice.

"Jane?" Maura's voice was laced with concern. "Hey. Are you with me?"

"Y-Yeah," Jane husked. "I'm with you. I…I don't feel so hot though." Maura swallowed. Jane looked clammy, and her words were slightly slurred. Maura held her breath as the nurses rushed over with a tray of medical supplies.

Maura jumped back as a young male doctor rushed through the door, with Jane's chart in hand.

"What have we got?" he asked briskly.

"Patient is in day six of post-op care," the nurse announced. "She had a GSW to the upper abdominal cavity. Dr. Phillip repaired a perforation in her stomach and performed a splenectomy. She just tore her stitches." He nodded, addressing the nurse before he quickly turned to face Jane.

"Hi, Detective Rizzoli?" he spoke nervously. "Is it okay if I call you Jane?" he spoke calmly, and Jane nodded. "I'm Dr. Riley."

"Hey," Jane replied rather breathlessly.

"I hear that you tore some stitches," he said in a friendly manner. "So I'm here to fix you up as good as new." He paused. "Does that sound good?"

"Y-Yeah," Jane managed to choke out. Maura didn't like the way he was looking at her friend. She wasn't sure if it was just his typical bedside manner or something more. "Not to sound des-perate," Jane's voice hitched, "But can you d-do something about the p-pain?"

"Sure," he replied scribbling a note in Jane's chart. "It says here that you're overdue. If you had to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, with one being no pain at all and ten being the worst pain you've ever experienced, what would you rate it?"

"Uh…a nine," Jane whimpered slightly.

"Okay… Okay," he replied, "Let's see if we can't fix that." Maura watched as he addressed one of the nurses, asking her to grab a vial of Jane's pain medicine. He swiveled around to pay full attention to Jane.

He nodded in Maura's direction, and Maura retracted her hands from Jane's side. Dr. Riley gently pulled back the gauze, and spoke in a calm, but direct tone.

"I need the Lidocaine and Prilocaine, please," he commented as he held out his hand. Maura watched silently as the syringe changed hands and the doctor uncapped it. He was efficient. "Jane?" he spoke softly. "You're going to feel a little pinch. I'm going to numb the area locally with some anesthetic." Jane swallowed and nodded, Maura feeling cramped standing next to the doctor moved around to the other side. Without pause, Jane reached for Maura's hand.

The doctor finished injecting the anesthetic, and let it work for a couple of minutes. "I'm going to clean the area, while I'm waiting for the anesthetic to work. It might feel a little cold, or you might not feel it at all." Within the span of a couple of minutes, he was pulling out the torn thread from Jane's skin and replacing it. He was meticulous, and Maura could tell that he was very good with his hands. The suture looked worlds better when he finally finished.

"All right," he sighed as he set the stitching needle back down onto the tray. "That should do it." He met Jane's eyes. "I just want to clean it one last time. Then we'll put a fresh bandage over it, and you'll be able to get some more rest." Maura watched the interaction carefully, analyzing the doctor's body language. His compassion was clearly not a false front, but Maura felt uneasy. It was obvious that he liked Jane, or at the very least was attracted to her, and yet, he hardly knew her.

Within a couple of more minutes, he was finished and the nurse was back with Jane's pain and nausea medications. They administered them through Jane's I.V. The young doctor made a joke about the pain medicine and encouraged Jane to get some rest. He departed with a promise to check on Jane later.

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"I'll keep an eye on her," Maura promised, sensing that Jane just wanted to be left alone so that she cold sleep. The doctor nodded in Maura's direction before slipping from the room.

Maura let out an uneasy sigh as Jane's eyes fluttered closed and the woman's breathing evened out. The medications that the nurse had injected through her I.V. had seemingly knocked Jane out cold. The honey-colored brunette was lost in her own little world as she watched Jane's serene expression.

"Maura," Frankie's voice had the ME looking his way, "Do you think I can talk to you outside for a second?" Maura looked from Frankie, to Jane, and then back again.

"Uh…sure," Maura swallowed. Jane was dead to the world around her, and so Maura figured she wouldn't be missed if she were to vanish for a little while. "What is it, Frankie?" she asked him as she faced him in the hall.

"We uhh…" Frankie knew this would be hard. He started to wring his hands, but realized it and let them drop back to his sides. "As you know, we've been investigating what happened." He took a deep breath, "I…I know you told IAB that Jeff didn't… that he didn't get the chance to…" the words were harder to get out than Frankie expected. Luckily, Maura understood where the conversation was headed, and decided to help him out.

"Sexually assault," Maura stressed the word.

"Right. You told them that he didn't get the chance to sexually assault you," Frankie finished. "But I have to ask. You weren't lying were you? I mean…He…He didn't, right?" Frankie asked, clearing his throat. "You would have reported it?!"

"Of course!" Maura replied. "I wasn't lying. The fact remains that I can't lie, Frankie. Plus, I know how underreported sexual assault is! Over 60% of assaults are not reported, and I would never want to be part of that statistic." Then. "I wasn't raped, Frankie. Jane saved me. God, she was shot twice and she still managed to save me from being assaulted by that pig."

"Okay, good," Frankie whispered in relief. "I only wish I hadn't said anything to Jane about it, because now she seems to think that you might've been."

"You said something to Jane?" Maura susurrated, her breathing coming in labored pants. "Does she know how close I came?!"

"Yeah," Frankie swallowed, his throat dry. "That's kind of how she tore her stitches. Needless to say, she was umm… she was pretty upset by it." Maura shook her head, starting to pace back and forth in the hallway.

Finally, she stopped and said. "I…I should check on Jane."

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Maura slipped back into the room, her heart clenching painfully at the sight of Angela kissing Jane on the forehead. Quietly, Angela Rizzoli moved around the bed and sidled up to Maura. "I'm just going to run out and grab something to eat," she announced, "I'll be right back."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take good care of her," Maura promised. As they were left alone, all of the things that Maura had struggled to push down over the last few days came floating back to the surface. "Oh, Jane," Maura sighed sadly as she crossed the room and dropped down into one of the chairs. Maura picked up Jane's hand from the bed, and gently swept her thumb to and fro over the woman's knuckles. Every so often she'd let her thumb brush the small pucker located in the center of the brunette's hands just so that she would know what it felt like.

"Could you try to be a little more quiet over there?" Jane's rough voice grumbled. Maura released Jane's hand, looking up to meet the brunette's coffee brown eyes.

"I didn't say anything," Maura defended. "I was just thinking."

"Yeah?" Jane's brows rose up on her forehead, "Well, you were thinking very loudly."

"Huh. So let me get this straight. I'm not allowed to think anymore?" Maura laughed softly. "Jane, that's not very fair." Jane let out a small chuckle.

"Sorry," Jane apologized, "You're right. That's not really fair."

"How are you feeling?" Maura asked.

"I've been better," Jane replied.

"Things will get better, Jane," Maura said sympathetically. "I promise."

Jane let out a small sigh. "What a mess this turned out to be," Jane said finally.

"Yeah," Maura smiled. "We tend to make a mess of things. The good news is, I think we've reached our lifetime quota for drama."

"Maur," Jane said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Maura asked softly.

"For putting you through this again," Jane whispered. "Ma told me how long I've been out… She also told me you had to do CPR. It…It must have been difficult. I can't even imagine." Jane caught Maura's twinkling eyes. "Thank you." Jane took a deep breath, or rather as deep as a breath as was possible. "Thank you for not giving up on me when most people would have."

"You would have done the same for me," Maura replied simply. "I know it." Maura felt her chest ache as she saw the look in Jane's eyes. "Jane, what's wrong?"

Jane couldn't even answer as tears steadily built in her eyes, and then finally overflowed. With a blink of Jane's eyes, beads of water were sent trailing down her cheeks. Maura quickly stood and wiped them away.

"Jane," Maura pleaded softly. "Talk to me, love."

"I…I'm sorry," Jane hiccupped. "It's just that…I let you down."

"If this is about what happened…" Maura said intensely.

"He hurt you!" Jane interjected. "I was supposed to protect you, and I failed you…he…"

"He didn't get the chance to do anything!" Maura cut her off. "You stopped it, Jane. You stopped him before he got the chance. And now he is where he can never hurt anyone. Okay?"

"So he didn't…He d-didn't r-rape you?" Jane felt immense relief, but for some reason only started sobbing harder. "Frankie said that he wasn't sure. And I've been trying to remember everything…but I have this big gap in my memory and…"

"Shhh," Maura bent down and kissed Jane softly. As she pulled away, she brushed her forehead against Jane's and said. "No, he didn't. You saved me, Jane. Okay? You saved me… just like always." She ran her fingers soothingly through Jane's hair, and refused to pull away. Jane kissed her again, this time putting everything into it that she possibly could.

"I love you," Jane whispered. "I know that I did everything ass backwards, but I do. I love you."

"I know," Maura replied with a weak smile. "I know you do, Jane."

"If I had it to do over again," Jane told her softly. "I would have asked you on a date first. And I would have told you I loved you before we ever even kissed. Because I've been in love with you for as long as I can remember."

"Me too," Maura replied, her eyes twinkling with unshed tears.

"Wait…" Jane stopped breathing, "Y-You have?"

"Of course," Maura replied. "What? Do you honestly think that I'm that good of an actor?" Maura asked. "I wanted you to kiss me, Jane. I wanted you to touch me. It's why I volunteered to go undercover with you. I wasn't faking it. I wasn't playing a part… I was just hoping that you would realize that you're in love with me too."

"I suddenly feel like the dumbest person in the world," Jane said in response. Maura shook her head.

"Impossible," she said in response. "Oblivious maybe," she reased, "but not dumb. Never dumb."

Jane's eyes fluttered closed several times, and Maura could tell that she was fighting sleep.

"Jane," Maura said softly. "Don't fight it. You need rest."

"Will you stay?"

"I'll stay," Maura promised, "If that's what you want." Jane looked as if she were considering something for a moment. Maura felt hurt by Jane's silence until Jane did the unexpected and reached out for her hand. Maura stood completely still confused by what Jane wanted. The detective tugged at her wrist.

"Lay with me?" Jane asked hopefully.

"Jane," Maura couldn't even begin to describe just how much she wanted to grant Jane's request, but there were too many things holding her back. "I don't think that it is a good idea. There's not enough room for both of us, and I really don't want to hurt you." Jane swallowed and looked away, her throat and eyes burning. She should have known that it was too much to ask. "Jane," Maura spoke softly, after seeing the way Jane's face had scrunched up in pain as the detective struggled not to cry. "Okay," Maura breathed as she moved the railing down, and slid onto the bed as gracefully as possible. Jane struggled to move, hoping to shift so that she could offer the shorter woman more room. She also tried to angle her body so that she was facing Maura, but couldn't bear to lie on her side, given the degree of pain she was in. Maura helped her carefully into a position that Jane could stand. "How's that?" she asked softly.

"Better," Jane replied with a hint of a smile. "God, when on earth did I become so needy?"

"You call this being needy?" Maura asked in jest. "Hey," Maura reached out to brush a bit of Jane's unruly hair behind her ear, "I'd say you've earned the right to be a little needy." She swallowed as her heart started to race. It seemed to be a direct result of the close proximity of their bodies. "I'd say you deserve to be comforted," Maura spoke softly. "It's a well known fact that humans draw the most comfort and strength from close contact with other humans. That's actually why the NICU puts twins together when one is having a hard time making it on their own," Maura informed Jane. "Besides," she joked softly, "I kind of owe you for saving me."

Jane lips twitched upwards in a smile. "I'm just glad you're okay." Maura swallowed thickly as Jane's hand darted out to brush over her cheek. Jane's thumb ghosted over the swell of a bruise on Maura's face, and the blonde watched as a look of pain flitted over Jane's face.

"It doesn't hurt," Maura promised. "Really. It doesn't." Jane nodded. Maura's hand reached up and she grasped Jane's hand in her own, twining their fingers together. "I probably don't look so hot right now though, with all of the bruises and such," Maura whispered quietly.

"You look fine," Jane breathed honestly. "More than fine, actually," Jane corrected. "You're beautiful." Jane's breathing grew shallow as she held Maura's intense gaze. Maura leaned forwards a little bit, as Jane's eyes fluttered closed.

"You okay?" Maura asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Jane choked out. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm just so tired."

"You should get some sleep," Maura recommended.

"I know it probably sounds so stupid and irrational," Jane's voice broke as her eyes opened again, "But I'm kind of afraid to go to sleep." Jane's eyes shimmered. "The pain meds give me very vivid nightmares that I can't seem to escape from. I learned that the last time I got shot. I…I don't like it."

"Oh, Jane," Maura breathed sadly. The usually strong detective looked very vulnerable, and Maura found herself making a confession of her own. "It's not stupid. Look, I…I still have nightmares about that day at the precinct, and about Hoyt. I have dreams where you're hurt or dying and I can't save you."

"Me too," Jane swallowed, her voice cracking. "I have dreams where I'm losing you and I can't do anything. It scares the hell out of me, but I… I think that it's okay to be afraid of losing something, because it means that you have something important to lose."

"That's very insightful, Jane," Maura replied. Jane let out a sleepy moan as she burrowed herself further into the mattress. "You should really get some sleep," Maura suggested. Jane shook her head. "I promise I'll be right here," Maura whispered, squeezing Jane's hand. Jane met her eyes.

"I don't want to lose this," Jane whispered. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Maura shot back with unwavering conviction. "Come here," Maura breathed finally. She released Jane's hand. Jane stayed frozen for a long moment, until Maura's arms opened to her. Carefully, the young blonde pulled Jane against her. Jane settled against Maura's body, feeling the comfort and warmth of her best friend as she settled against her. Foreheads brushed against each other as they stayed like so for a long moment. "You'll be safe. I promise." Maura felt her palms begin sweat as she grasped Jane's hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. The blonde's hands joined Jane's in the small space between their bodies. Arms were bent upwards at the elbows and so the hands were clasped tightly between their chests. Jane could feel Maura's heartbeat against her hand and wondered if Maura could feel the same thing.

"Thank you, Maur," Jane choked out. "For always being there when I need it."

"I could say the same thing," Maura replied. "I wish that you'd never had to go through the things you have."

Together they both fell into a deep sleep. That is, until Maura started thrashing.

Jane's eyes flew open as Maura's limbs started moving. Maura's head turned back and forth on the pillows.

"Maur," Jane tried softly. "Maur," Jane tried again, this time a little louder. She was about to speak again when Maura's arm accidentally hit her chest. "OOmphf" Jane grunted, and then gasped as a blinding pain took over. Jane quickly reached out and latched onto Maura's small fists.

"Jane," Maura whimpered. "Jane! Oh god, Jane," Maura cried loudly. "No! Oh god, no! You can't be dead! You can't…" Maura was sobbing now.

"Maur, it's okay," Jane spoke loudly. "It's okay, I'm right here." Jane let go of Maura's hands and quickly wrapped her arms around Maura, tightly, and held on, even though every one of Maura's movements made her feel like she wanted to scream.

Maura gasped, and Jane could tell that her honey brunette best friend had finally awakened. For a breadth of a moment, Maura was still, but then the woman's body started shaking violently.

Jane felt hot wet tears fall from Maura's eyes and land on her neck and shoulder, as Maura buried her face in the crook of Jane's neck.

"You were dead," Maura whispered. "Your eyes were open and you weren't breathing."

"Shh," Jane soothed, "I'm right here, Maura." Jane took a labored breath. "You saved me, and I'm right here. Everything is fine," Jane ran her one hand gently up and down Maura's back.

For a long moment, Maura breathed in Jane's comforting scent. It was purely and unequivocally Jane, and for a heart stopping moment Maura was transported back to the bathroom at the club. She remembered feeling complete, loved, just as she did now in Jane's arms.

"I love you," Maura murmured.

"Ditto, kiddo," Jane said with a smile. Maura carefully pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, noting the look of pain on Jane's features, "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Jane shook her head, "It just hurts to see you hurting so much." Jane reached out, slipped her hand behind Maura's neck and pulled, bringing their lips together in a slow, languid and fluid kiss. Tongues reached out and caressed one another, as they both sought to convey their love for one another.

They would have stayed like this happily were it not for the fact that the door started opening, forcing them to spring apart.

-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I-R&I

A/N: So there's another ridiculously long chapter! I think that maybe I was overcompensating because I am going to be on the road for the next two days and will be unable to update. (I will try to update as soon as possible though!)

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. The funny thing about this chapter is, I was going to wait a bit longer for the pivotal "I love yous," to be exchanged, but this chapter really kind of wrote itself, and so there you go! Hopefully you don't feel like I jumped the gun a bit. Please let me know what you think! Review if you're willing!

Thanks for reading! I love you all!