A/N: Another intense emotional chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Maura was inconsolable. After she had called in the mayday, she had been ordered by Viper to get back to base immediately. As much as she wanted to disobey, Maura knew she couldn't and followed orders. She could hear Susie sniffling in her comms but they both held themselves together the best they could. It wasn't until they reached the locker room that both women fell into body shaking sobs, blindly reaching for each other. They had no idea the fate of their lovers. All they knew was that it hadn't looked good at all.

Susie had kept an eye on the plane as Maura had flown them back and had been anxious when she didn't see either pilots chute deployed. Something must have gone terribly wrong and not knowing if either of them was alive was crippling both women with immeasurable despair.

In what felt like hours later but in reality must have been about fifteen minutes, Jester came to the locker room and told Maura and Susie that Viper wanted to see them. The pilots gathered themselves, cleaning off their faces the best they could, and followed Jester to Viper's office.

Upon entering, Maura saw the grave look on Viper's face and her heart sank. This was it. She lost Jane. Maura had barely found her and now she had lost her so soon. She was about to fall back into inconsolable tears when Viper finally spoke.

"The rescue team has them. Maverick has a few bruises but should be fine. Goose, well, Goose is touch and go. He has been taken to the Navy Medical Center and will be placed in the ICU. It seems that he is in a coma." Viper stopped abruptly causing Maura to look up. Their commander was holding back tears of his own. This moved Maura more than she would have thought and her respect for her commanding officer skyrocketed.

Clearing his throat, Viper continued, "We won't know more until the doctor's run more tests. Get cleaned up and then I want a full report on my desk by 1700 hours. Dismissed." Maura recognized the order and she and Susie made their way back to the locker room.

Once again as soon as they entered, they both fell apart, this time Maura initiating the embrace, attempting to comfort her friend who had just found out her lover's fate. Maura was crying tears of relief but also guilt as she was glad that she wasn't in Susie's position. This might be selfish but at the moment, Maura was just so glad Jane was okay. Well, physically anyway, because Maura knew that there was no way Jane wasn't blaming herself for all of this.

x-x-x-x-x-x

She did this. Jane was staring out the window of the hospital room, the steady beeping of the machine behind her the other thing that was keeping her from leaping right out of it. She had put her best friend in a coma. The doctors wouldn't tell her all the details since they said she wasn't family but she knew it wasn't looking good. Fortunately, the steady sound of Frost's heart beat kept her tentatively tethered to this world.

Jane turned and pulled up the lone chair in the room alongside Frost's hospital bed and dropped heavily. She had already been treated for the few cuts and bruises she had sustained from the canopy. Easing one of her bandaged hands forward, Jane clung on to Frost's surprisingly soft hands, hanging on for dear life. Jane felt the pain radiate from her fingers, but she didn't care. She needed to feel connected to this man, this soul who had been by her side for so long, she couldn't remember a time without him.

Jane shook her head hard. She didn't want to think of a time without him. That wasn't going to happen. She would do whatever it took to make sure Frost pulled through and was giving her that teasing smile again.

Jane tried to hold back her tears but the minute she looked up at Frost's beautiful but still face, the floodgates were opened and tears streamed down her cheeks. Jane dropped her head to the bed and let her sorrow overcome her, sobs racking her body.

x-x-x-x-x-x

This is how Maura found her. Slumped over the side of Barold's bed, body shaking dangerously, struggling for breath, crying uncontrollably. The sight broke her heart.

She didn't have too long to consider what to do before Susie came barrelling into the room and launched herself at Barold. Susie lay across the unconscious man, not caring if she was causing him pain, clearly just needing to be close to him.

Maura watched as Jane realized she wasn't alone any more and tried to get herself together. Maura saw the haunted look in those deep brown eyes that were always so expressive and her heart broke again. It took a few more seconds for Jane to register that Maura was also there and when their eyes met, Maura felt tears she didn't know she still had slowly make their way down her face.

Jane looked so lost and Maura wanted to run to her, to kiss her all over to show her where her place was. To console her and tell her it wasn't her fault. But Maura also knew she couldn't lie. The extent of Barold's injuries were not her fault, but the fact that the situation had happened at all was. And that fact scared Maura into inaction.

When Jane saw the look of blame that Maura must have been wearing as she went through her thoughts, her face shut down and she let her head fall to her chest. Maura wanted to kick herself for even thinking these things now. Now was not the time to be logical. Now was the time to be there for the woman she loved, when she needed her most.

Finally entering the room fully, Maura made her way to Jane and as she was about to lay her hands on Jane's shoulders, Jane bolted upright in her chair and stood. Not looking at anyone or anything, she took off out the door.

Maura was so shocked at the sudden movement that she was once again paralyzed until a small raspy voice piped up from the bed. "Go. get. Her." Maura looked wide eyed at the bed and saw a slit of a brown eye looking at her with determination, if slightly unfocused. Maura gasped, seeing Barold awake. She stepped toward him and he gave a sharp shake to his head. This caused him to groan lowly but again the raspy voice said, "Go. get. Her. now." Maura knew how much energy that must have taken for the injured man and finally finding her legs, Maura used her infamous sprinter's speed and went after the love of her life.

A/N: Will Maura be able to find Jane? Will Jane allow Maura in? Let me know what you think. :-)