Hey there, sorry about the long wait, I got involved in other projects and the storyline for this one fizzled out, but I'm hoping to bring this back, so I hope you can forgive me. Also forgive mistakes, grammar or continuity. More will be posted soon and please leave a review. Thank you for reading. Special thanks to the person who reviewed and asked for another chapter recently, as I had completely forgotten about this until then. Big thanks to everyone.
Images flashes past her mind's eye like some kind of horrific movie reel. Sensations felt so real; the hot breath prickling the skin on the back of her neck; the large, strong hand gripping her skull; the cold, sharp blade jammed against her throat. Across the room, a familiar face burned with fury she had never before witnessed. The gun was trained on the figure behind her. Her breath hitched as the foul-smelling man squeezed her tighter, the sharp edge of the knife hovering just above her vein. Panic coursed through her as she swallowed, the blade moving uncomfortably against her skin. Her hands shook as she clutched at the arm wrapped around her.
"Let her go!" barked Jane, her face battered and bruised. Blood dripped from her nose onto her lips. These stained lips were contorted into a ferocious snarl as she took a step forwards, her gun trembling in her hands.
"You think I'm an idiot?" chortled the man – his breath reeked of alcohol. "Put the gun down!" Maura couldn't restrain the cry that crept up her throat when the man pulled her back a step. "Now!"
Maura couldn't think enough to move. She could barely concentrate on breathing right now. She could see the emotions racing across the detective's face as she considered her options. Anger gave way to frustration, soon morphing into surrender. She threw the gun on the floor, slamming her fist into the kitchen counter. Maura winced at the loud noise, but felt the man's hold slacken slightly.
"Good. Now stand against the wall," ordered the man. Jane's eyes flickered to Maura, trying to formulate a plan.
"Arthur –" started Maura, but she received a sharp pain on her throat as the knife swiped a tiny cut. She could tell it was a superficial wound, but that didn't stop her gasp of fright.
"Shut up!" he growled. "I've killed before. And believe me, lady, I can do it again."
"Look!" shouted Jane, hurrying to the wall behind a wall cabinet. She threw her hands against the cream-coloured plaster. "Just don't hurt her!" Maura could hear Jane's voice crack in desperation. The sound tugged at her racing heart as her captor manoeuvred her towards the door. He steered her past the breakfast counter, accidentally slamming her knee into it. She stumbled, and that's when time seemed to speed up. Suddenly, there was a predatory growl as Jane launched herself at Arthur, taking him by surprise and grabbing his knife-wielding hand from behind. She twisted sharply, breaking his wrist and wrenching the knife away. Now that she was free, Maura took a step forwards, desperate to be as far from the tussle as possible. However, the unfortunate combination of an injured knee and high heels made her unable to steady herself when Arthur stumbled into her after receiving a sucker-punch from Jane. His weight threw her forwards into the counter. Her head slammed off of the thick wooden edge. Pain exploded in her head and she collapsed to the floor, her world dissolving into a blur of pain and darkness.
Sweat coated her forehead as Maura woke sharply, gulping deep breaths in an attempt to calm her heart. A hand automatically shot to her forehead, but she felt nothing. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and told her she was in her bedroom. The hand on her head slowly swept back, running through her limp strands. Exhaling slowly, she slumped back against her pillows, kicking her roasting covers off of her legs.
"Just a dream…" she muttered to herself. She leaned over and reached out her hand for the phone lying on her bedside table. The screen lit up at her touch, causing her to wince as the harsh glare assaulted her sensitive pupils. It was twenty six minutes past four in the morning. Rolling her eyes, she saw she had a missed call from Jane earlier in the evening. Maura smiled, glad that she had someone looking out for her while she recovered. When she had her computer sorted out back at the lab, and Susie caught her up on the case, she had dived into her work eagerly. The familiarity of working with the human body comforted her greatly. The woman she had reviewed the autopsy of was intriguing enough to take Maura's mind off of everything for a while; all her worries, doubts and fears melted away in the face of a challenge. The case – a woman, found dead off of the side of a road with no obvious cause of death kept her busy for the rest of the day. She hadn't noticed how much time had gone by until Jane had stopped by and offered to drive her home. Maura accepted, and then just collapsed in bed as soon as she got home. Perhaps she had overworked herself. With a sigh, she sat up and switched on the light. Wandering across her room, she emerged into the kitchen. Flicking on the kettle, she pulled out her favourite loose tea and waited patiently for the water to boil. Her feet rocked back and forth on the cool floor. The tea would help her sleep – she didn't want to go into work exhausted. She was fine. She just wanted everything to get back to normal. Or as normal as possible, given how much had changed. The things people told her seemed to make sense, but she just couldn't see it. Like the pieces fitted but she couldn't work out the whole picture yet. Her memories of Jane were gone, but she had a kind of… feeling, an odd bond that Maura didn't understand but could feel. Maybe it was just her bonding to the first thing she woke up to, who knows. But what Jane had told her about their friendship seemed to fit. And now she was married. She wasn't entirely sure why that bothered her so much – or in denial, she thought in frustration, but this part she ignored. A sharp click wrenched her from her thoughts and she reached out, grasping the kettle and pouring the water over the strainer full of tea leaves. When she was done, she let it steep for a moment before removing the strained leaves, tossing them into the sink. She could deal with it in the morning. Settling down at her counter, she opened up her laptop, sipping her tea. Gulping the hot liquid, she logged in using the password from the office computer. Thankfully, it worked, and she could access her files. With nothing new to check, she tapped the table thoughtfully. Maybe it was time for some internet snooping, she mused.
Calling up her browser, her fingers flew over the keyboard, searching for any evidence of Jane and Casey's wedding. It wasn't difficult to procure – she found an announcement in the local newspaper, and a whole host of pictures and comments on social media websites. It looked like quite an affair. Jane looked wonderful in the simple yet elegant white dress. Casey was handsome in his suit, and the rest of the family. Maura could see Frankie and Angela, and another man who looked a little like Jane – maybe another brother. They all looked happy, dressed in their finery with their champagne glasses. Maura gazed at a picture of Jane standing at the altar, looking out over everyone. She looked… odd. She was smiling, but it didn't quite meet her eyes. Like there was something missing. Or someone, she thought, before dismissing it. She spent another half hour sipping her tea and perusing the pictures. Once she had drunk the dregs of the cup, she returned to her bed and switched off the light. Lying back against the pillows, she yawned, settling into a comfy position and letting sleep take her.
Maura woke up from a surprisingly deep sleep by a sharp knocking at her front door. Pale light spilled into her room from behind the curtains as she slipped out of bed and hurried over to the door, blinking to wake herself up. Opening the door, she yawned, eyebrows rising in polite surprise at her early visitor.