A/N: Sorry this one is a bit longer as I didn't see the need to cut it into two different chapters. Mistakes are mine but the characters are not. Thank you for the reviews/follows/favs.
Loading her mother and Tommy into the car as fast as she could Jane turns the cherry back on. Ignoring her brother the whole way as he complains about his missed date with a "hottie." If it wasn't such a crucial moment Jane would have probably yelled at him and kicked him out of the car.
As the adrenaline pumped throughout her veins, Jane parks the car and quickly gets out of the vehicle and grabs Lina as she runs up the apartment stairs to her brother's home. "Thank you so much Frankie!" Jane hugs her brother and deposits Lina into his arms. "I know you didn't want to call in but I would never trust any officer with Lina and ma."
"I know Janie, I want to be at your side but I know you would worry about them if I was."
"I will call you and let you know what is happening. You check in with me too, okay?" Jane says as she looks around the hallway. "Got get 'em Janie. Be safe."
"You too. Take good care of my girl. Lock the doors." Jane kisses her daughter once more. Taking a moment the two siblings lock eyes, silently reassuring each other that everything will be okay.
Jane swaggers into the precinct as she feels the detective side take over. This is her element, and nothing will get in her way. Bypassing the elevators, Jane takes the stairs to get to her floor faster.
"Janie." Korsak says when he sees the brunette. "We've been working non-stop since we suspected it was Hoyt." Shaking her head to signal that she heard Jane asks, "What do we got?"
Turning on his iPad Frost begins to fill in Jane. "Not much, James Stern. Found him in the park with his throat slit. Pike said his body was abnormally cold." As Frost speaks, Korsak comes over with the files from the crime scene and Pike and hands them to Jane. "James and his wife we reported missing two years ago. Domestic violence charges were against him, James was the main suspect in the case. The theory was that he killed his wife, hid the body, and then fled but now we know that isn't the case."
Going to sit at her desk the brunette ask, "Did we run all the Jane Does in the morgue?" Frost shakes his head and slides her the files that Pike sent up with the Jane Doe descriptions. "And you guys are sure that it looks like Hoyt?"
"Yes." Korsak nods and Jane knows he doesn't want to bring up the first case dealing with Hoyt.
"Well, let's not waste anymore time talking." Jane declares as she turns on her monitor and begins to work.
Hours pass with no results before Jane gets a call, "Frankie, is everything okay?" She asks worried for Lina's safety.
"Not really. Janie, I tried to stop him…Tommy left. He said he was going to go on his date." Frankie informs his sister with a bit of a shaky voice, scared that Jane would be disappointed with him.
"Shit! Tommy is such a pain in my ass!" Jane growls into the phone before she hangs up.
Standing up, Jane looks to the other two who are already watching her make her way to the elevator. "I'll be back."
Settling down with a glass of wine, Maura turns on the living room TV. Since the afternoon, Maura's thoughts have been on Jane. She had seen the fear in Jane's eyes and she was worried for the brunette.
"A body was found earlier today in a neighborhood park, a disclosed source has informed us that it may be the work of the serial killer Charles Hoyt. More on this story when we return." Maura is snapped out of her thoughts as she hears the newscaster speak. As the news goes to commercial, Maura is overwhelmed with the memories.
Adrenaline courses through her veins as she pulls up to the abandoned house. She is close to solving this case, finding the missing wife. Close to catching Charles Hoyt. There is no time to wait; waiting will mean Melissa will die.
Pulling out her gun she makes her perimeter check, as she circles the yard she hears the faint crying. Coming up on a basement door the cries become louder. 'This is it.' She thinks, 'It's over!'
Grabbing her flashlight she slowly descends the steps into the darkened basement. Not even making it all the way down the stairs she sees the woman. 'Melissa.' She says relived that the missing wife is alive. And before she can realize what her next step will be she feels the wood break over her and she is out.
She doesn't know how long she is out. She just knows it was long enough for her gear and gun to be stripped and for her to be tied up. For the first time Jane hears Charles Hoyt's voice and it makes her stomach drop, "Jaaaaaane. Wake up, Jane…It's time." Still dizzy from the wood slamming down on her, she looks around to see what Hoyt is talking about.
As she notices Melissa's eyes close in fear she tries to understand what is happening but it is too late. The scalpel pierces her left palm and pins her to the ground. At first the adrenaline and shock keep her from registering pain. But as the second scalpel slams down so does the agony. It's all that she can think of. When she sees the third scalpel appear she resolves to the fact she is going to die. She welcomes it. Takes comfort when she feels the blade slice the skin on her neck.
Disappointment sets in when she hears the gunshots ring out. Her misery will not end now. Watching Korsak as he throws off his jacket and kneels down next to her. It breaks her, she is weak, and she is nothing. 'It hurts! It hurts!' she cries out not caring who hears. And the wailing that comes out of her is heard. Heard from all the responding officers outside clearing the yard.
Maura can't believe what she has just remembered. It couldn't be real it had to be Jane's nightmare. But the scars on Jane's hands make it proof that it was real. Shaking off the pain in her hands, Maura watches as the news plasters the picture of Charles Hoyt on the screen and it makes her burn with anger and pain.
There is a loud knock at the door and it makes the blonde jump. Running to the door she looks out the window before releasing the breath she had been holding.
"Jane." Maura throws her arms around the detective. "I'm so glad you came over."
"I can tell." Jane jokes. "I just needed to get away from everything and I thought here would be a good place."
"You are always welcome here." Maura moves to the side letting in the brunette. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"
"I'm good thanks, just wanted to come over and talk." Jane follows the blonde to the couch, noticing the news story that is scrolling the bottom of the screen. "Can we turn this off?"
Maura scrambles for the remote, fearing that Jane might clam up or run away. "Sorry."
"Earlier today…I'm sorry about that. I told you my life was chaotic. I still would understand if you never wanted to see me again." The brunette gives Maura a sad smile. "Never." And that one word brightens Jane's world.
"I want to tell you something but I'm scared that it would make you afraid, make you not want to be friends."
Scooting closer Maura grabs for Jane's hand. She knows what Jane wants to tell her but she can see that the brunette is hesitant to speak. "Do you have to be anywhere tonight?"
"Not really." Jane answers, she has given up trying to find Tommy and she doesn't want to recheck the files for the hundredth time. "I can't go back to work right now. It's just too much."
Standing up Maura reaches out for Jane. Watching as Jane's eyebrows rise in confusion. "Trust me." Maura says and reaches for Jane again, this time the brunette takes her hand. Maura begins to lead Jane to her darkened bedroom.
As they enter she guides Jane to the bed and tells her to sit. When Jane does as the blonde has asked, Maura sits as well. "Are you going to turn on the lights or is this your way of seducing me into taking off my clothes?" Jane nervously jokes as her heart slams into her chest.
The words do spark something in the blonde but she knows now is not the time to ponder why. "I can tell you are nervous about what you want to tell me. Being in the dark in a comfortable atmosphere will help make you feel less vulnerable to judgment."
"This will make it easier to tell you." And Jane takes a moment before she begins.
Maura wakes a few hours later to the dark bedroom. She can feel the other woman's arms wrapped around her. It was a mirrored image of how they had fallen asleep after Jane had shared her darkest moments. Maura could tell that Jane wasn't used to being the one comforted. But through the tears both had found a connection that neither had ever felt before.
There is a light buzzing and then a ringing before Jane wakes up. She slowly retracts her arms and searches her pockets for her cell phone.
"Rizzoli…Hey Frost. What do you mean? I'm not home Frost. Okay, I'll call you when I get there." Maura hears Jane's side of the conversation. Hanging up Jane looks over to the blonde. "My brother Tommy is at my house, my partner tracked his cell phone. I have to go see what's going on, my mom is calling my partners now."
"I'm going with you." Maura declares as she gets up to get ready. Jane does the same, "I don't think that is a good idea Maur."
Maura would have probably listened to Jane if she wouldn't have used a nickname but it's so endearing that she has to go to make sure Jane is safe. "No, I'm going with you and that is final."
"Fine but you are waiting in the car."
Climbing up the steps to her home she finds her house key. "Tommy?" The brunette calls out as she enters her home. "Tommy, I swear! If you are having sex with some skank in my bed I will kill you myself."
Opening her bedroom door she immediately sees her brother tied up on the floor. Running over she tries to untie him but before she can she hears the click of a gun.
"Sit down." The voice is eerily calm. Sitting down, Emily Stern throws a pair of handcuffs down to the detective. "Put these on. DO IT!" The woman yells as Jane hesitates.
"Hoyt said it would be harder than this; but all I had to do was prop my husband's body on a park bench, go on a date with your ridiculously stupid brother and you come running right to me."
As Jane tries in vain to wiggle out of the cuffs she replies "He killed your husband, didn't he Emily?" Jane tries to provoke Emily to come closer.
"It's not a relationship you would understand." Emily says trying to silence the brunette.
"I understand it Emily. I once hated the relationship I was in, hated myself, hated life. I know what it's like to drift through life not feeling. But it all can change…for the better."
"SHUT UP!" Emily screams as she points the gun at Tommy. Ripping off the tape that sticks to his mouth she says, "I want you both to be able to say goodbye."
Time freezes for the detective as she hears the honeyed voice of the blonde, "Jane?" Everyone looks to Maura as she pushes open the bedroom door. Not sparing any moment Jane charges Emily and knocks her to the ground. Wrestling the gun from her she shoots at the woman, killing her instantly.
When everyone had given statements and had been cleared by the paramedics Jane, Maura and Tommy head over to Angela's house.
As Tommy sits in the back Jane glares at him from the passenger seat as Maura drives. "Do you see how your stupid actions put all of us in danger? Maura could have been hurt or killed!"
"No one asked you to come save me and YOU made the decision to bring Maura."
Turning as far as the seatbelt will let her Jane jabs her finger in the air towards Tommy, "First of all, you were trying to get laid in my home, MY BED!" Jane screams "And second if you wouldn't have snuck out for your date with that freak, Maura would never had been put in danger in the first place."
Shrugging of the guilt Tommy hangs his head, "No one got hurt Janie."
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT! You don't get it do you? What if I would have been there with Maura? What if I had brought Lina back home thinking everything was all right? Two people who I care about could have been killed."
Tommy flares his chest, he knows he has screwed up but like always he is unwilling to accept it. "What is she like your girlfriend?" He snarls out, knowing that this comment will bother Jane. "When did I become less than family? You treat her better than me! I was the one tied up with a gun pointed to my face!"
It takes everything that Jane has to not unbuckle her seatbelt and beat Tommy to a pulp. Instead she looks him straight in the eye before speaking; "I don't want you near me or Lina not until you get your life together. You put us all at risk with your stupid ideas and schemes." Turning around she settles in her seat. "When we get to Ma's I want you to pack your things and get out." Shaking her head in disappointment Jane says the thing that she knows will hurt Tommy the most, "You are more like Dad than I ever thought you would be."
Maura pulls up to Angela's house and puts the car in park. Up to this point the blonde had been a fly on the wall silently observing the two siblings in their argument. But as Tommy violently pushes the car door open and slams it shut, Maura reaches over to place her hand on Jane's thigh to keep her from reacting.
"Jane." She says soothingly. "Just take a moment to calm down before going in there. Lina shouldn't see the two of you fighting." And with those words Jane finally does as Maura has asked. "I just don't get how stupid he can be sometimes."
"People make foolish decisions all the time Jane. What you do for a living should show you that." Maura takes her hand away from the brunette's thigh and reaches for the keys.
"He brought a killer into my home. How am I supposed to bring home Lina and feel secure in my own house?" If Jane wasn't a strong woman she may have cried a little thinking how vulnerable she feels.
Even as socially inept as Maura is, she knows what she is about to offer isn't what someone normally does after knowing a person for a few days, but she can't help to feel connected to Jane somehow. "You and Lina can stay in my guest house? It has an alarm and my whole property is gated." She watches as Jane gives her a quizzical face. "You could stay as long as you wanted; a night, two, or 365 nights. However long until you felt safe enough to go home. It would be up to you."
The blonde watches as the detective considers her proposition. "I couldn't put you out like that. I have already made your life a mess."
Maura again reaches over to the brunette. Placing her hand over Jane's, "It wouldn't bother me at all Jane. Actually, I have been alone for quiet some time now and the company would be truly welcomed."
Smiling at the blonde, Jane turns her hand over and squeezes the other woman's hand. "It would only be for a few nights. A week tops."
"However long you need Jane." Maura grins as Jane opens the car door and calls to her when she doesn't move to go in the house, "Come on, let's go grab Lina."
I did a different take on I'm Your Boogie Man and I also used Tommy instead of Frankie. I didn't want to follow the show to closely it is an AU after all. AND now we have Jane "moving" in but not for long. This isn't going to be one of those stories where they fall in love in a week. We still have some more drama before these two live happily ever after.