She became a dead weight, and Dennis, not expecting this let her slip a little lower down his body. Maura pulled her right elbow back and slammed it with all of her remaining strength into Dennis's thigh.
This move caused Dennis to growl in pain, and at the same time, release Maura from his grip. Maura instantly lurched forward and threw herself to the ground. Rolling away to put as much distance as she could between the both of them.
The moment Dennis had released her, two gunshots rang out. One from Korsak, and the other from Jane. Maura turned to see two holes appear on Dennis chest, and through this holes, two blossoms of red bloomed.
Dennis's mouth opened and closed several times, as if he were trying to say something. He staggered backward, then dropped down the cliff. A wordless howl followed him down the ravine.
Jane rushed forward to Maura's side, finally able to get to her. "Maura, you okay?" She asked as she took of the gag and cut of the ropes around Maura's hand.
Maura merely nodded, to weak and strained to say anything. There was a groaning that sounded off towards their left. They both turned to see Hoyt's form still lying on the ground. He was lying on his back, absolutely still; and the only movement was that of his chest moving up and down, signifying that he was still alive. Cavanaugh gently laid Frost on the ground and moved over, at the same time as Korsak did, to where Hoyt was. Jane helped Maura up and supported her weight.
"Well, let's bring him down to the holding cell." Cavanaugh said. He bent down to lift Hoyt up. However, when he reached to take a hold of Hoyt's shoulder, Hoyt screamed in pain. Cavanaugh jerked his hand back, stunned by the reaction. "What on earth is wrong with him?"
With Jane's help, Maura hobbled over to Hoyt. She looked down at him and asked him, "Hoyt, can you lift your leg up?"
They all could see Hoyt straining to do what Maura had said. His face scrunched up and tears beaded on his forehead.
"I can't. I can't!" he wailed.
"What about you hand? Can you lift that up?"
Hoyt managed to do that, howbeit, with quite a bit of effort.
"I think he has a lumbar sacral injury." Maura diagnosed.
All those gathered around Hoyt looked at Maura. She saw their questioning looks and clarified. "A lower back injury. The bullet must have hit his spinal cord, injuring the nerves there. He might be paralysed from the waist down. You are going to have to move him very carefully."
"Ah, I see." Korsak spoke.
Jane could tell that they were going to take a long time to get down to Frost's house. What with a half paralysed Hoyt, an injured Frost, and an ever weakening Maura. At least Korsak and Cavanaugh were present. With sheer determination and hard work, they made it down to Frost's place.
Jane ran over to Hope's – the town's midwife and also known for her apothecary skills – house and called on her to help. Hope bustled about, she managed to take the bullet out of Frost's side and bandaged him up. She stitched up Maura's wounds and bound them up. But for Hoyt, there was nothing she could do. She did not have the know-how nor the proper tools to do so.
Hope didn't bother to ask why this three extra men and lady were in Frost's house. Years of being called to bandage up various people taught her never to ask how they had been wounded, or ask about the strangers that were sometimes with the victims. Once everything was taken care of, Hope took her leave, although, not before Jane pressed a few bills into her hand.
As soon as she saw Hope of, she went to check on Maura. She was resting in the spare bedroom, the only room which contained another bed other than Frost's. Frost was resting in his own room; Korsak and Cavanaugh were with Hoyt in the barn house. The two soldiers had definitely earned their rest, after all the fast and hard traveling that they did.
Jane peeked in and saw that Maura was still sound asleep. They had put her there as soon as she was cleaned up.
Jane walked into the room, silently positioned a chair next to Maura's bed, and sat down to watch Maura. Burying her face in her hands, Jane tried to sort out her jumble of feelings.
After all this years, she finally had Hoyt. Yet, it wasn't her bullet that brought him down, instead, it was another low life worm that did it. Jane wanted nothing more to just put a gun to Hoyt's head and blow his brain out. But she couldn't. Not with him like that. She couldn't bring herself to just go up to him and kill him in cold blood. She thought she could. But, oh, how wrong she was. She just couldn't.
And Maura was here because of Jane. Because of Jane and Hoyt, Maura got hurt. Hoyt had nearly managed to torture Jane further by killing another person she loved. Jane looked up and stretched her hand out to clasp Maura's hand. She could feel the little bump of the scar from her own palms pressed against Maura's soft skin.
"Maura, Maura. I am so sorry. What would I do without you?" Jane breathed.
Maura shifted slightly before her eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Jane."
"Hey, Maura. I am sorry, did I wake you?"
"Actually, no. I kind of woke up because I was feeling hungry. Do you – could you get me something to eat?" Maura asked sheepishly.
Jane smiled. "Of course, Maur. Just give me a few minutes to whip up a stew."
Indeed, a few moments later, Jane returned with a bowl of stew in her hand. Jane gently put the bowl in Maura's hands, sat back down on her chair, and studied her for a while.
Maura's cheeks had sunken, making her cheek bones protrude more than it should have. There were eye bags, purple in colour, under her eyes. Her eyes were still a bit glazed over, and teary from exhaustion. Her pallor was a shade lighter than it should have been, for all the blood she had lost. Her slim frame had lost some of its precious weight, giving her a delicate appearance. Both her wrists were chafed raw from the ropes.
Maura hungrily drank from the bowl of stew that Jane had handed to her. Maura's apparent hunger bespoke of the rough treatment that she had endured for the past three days. It made Jane's blood boil to see her friend in this state. She wished that she could resurrect Dennis just so that she could kill him again.
Yet, deep down in Jane's heart, she blamed her own self. Because of her, Maura had been drawn into trouble. Well, there's no better time than the present Jane tentatively reached her hand over to Maura's shoulder. "Maura, I am so sorry I got you into all this. I am so sorry for what happened that night too. Hell, I'm such a stupid jerk, Maura. I-I I am sorry." Jane apologized.
Maura made no move to show that she had hear Jane. Instead, she looked at Jane with a guarded gaze. I can't blame her if she doesn't respond Jane thought to herself.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Maura replied. "Jane, I do not blame you for bringing me into this trouble. I do hold you responsible for your drunkenness that night. But, Jane, where do we stand? You have found your family's killer, now what?"
Jane sighed. "I don't know. I thought it would be so easy to just kill him on the spot. But I couldn't. I thought that when I faced Hoyt again, he would have a fighting chance, and it would be so easy for me to just shoot at him. But, I couldn't not when he was lying there, so helpless.
"It wasn't even my bullet that saved you. It was Dennis's. In a twisted, way, he and yourself were the one who saved you. Not I, all I did was just stand there. Helpless. Maybe I am weak or something." Jane muttered. "Maura, would you really still want to be around me? A magnet for trouble, and a weakened vessel? If you would still have me, then I am all yours. I was just thinking what I would do without you. And I couldn't fathom that thought. Maura, would you still have me?"
"Oh, Jane, you are not weak. It takes more strength to hold your passions in than to let it have full rein. You still had a heart and spared that grovelling bastard. That isn't weakness, that's strength. You knew where to find me. You came, and that is enough for me.
"And, Jane, yes, I would still have you. You will be the only one I would have. You know why? Because, I. Love. You.
"That night, when I first asked if you would stay with me, I wasn't lying when I told you that I had come to love the person that you are. Sometimes, I have to catch my breath when I get a glance of you around the house. You know that feeling you get when you meet somebody whom you like? It feels like a net full of butterflies are flying around in my stomach, my heart pumps with excitement.
"There is no way I can adequately describe the way I love you. That is one of those words through which only actions can display its definition. Jane, you are beautiful, and I love you just the way you are."
Jane felt her eyes staring to water. Nobody had said something so nice to her for a very long while now. She reached over to take the now forgotten bowl of stew and set it on the writing desk near the table. Walking back, she took Maura's hand in hers and sat back down on her chair.
"Thank you, Maura. Thank you. I love you too, and I am going to spend the rest of my time trying my best to show it to you."
MiA the ReD, when you said, "...take Hoyt out..." I infer that you thought Hoyt was dead? If that were so, then I hope this chapter was unexpected. ;)
cjunited38 , Ahahaha...loved your comment. And, as you can see, the chapter was named after your review. :)
Magicfull and Shealyn02, well, here you go!
Coachd120, kinda!
And to the rest of the reviewers, LOVE YOU GUYS!