Authors Note: Hello, my lovelies. So sorry for the tiny wait, but this chapter is longer to make up for it. c: Here's some fun Rizzles banter in the beginning. It lessens the blow of when Jane has to take a statement. Originally this was a longer chapter, but I split it. So you guys will probably have another chapter up if not tonight than tomorrow. For some reason this chapter was a little hard for me to write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. You guys have been amazing with the reviews. I love you all! If you have a chance, let me know your thoughts.

Disclaimer: I just own the story line. Sad, right? :c

Chapter Eight

Sleep was not something that Jane or Maura got and when the alarm clock went off at 5 am, Jane found herself groaning out loud. Maura was like a deadweight on her and she disentangled herself from the ME to move to the right side of the bed and shut off the alarm. "Why on Gods green earth do you set your alarm so freakin' early, Maur?" Jane blinked as the blaring red digital numbers blurred. "Gees, it's 5 freaking am, Maura... FIVE AM!" She said incredulously as she flopped back onto the bed, face first into her pillow.

Maura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "It's good initiative to have an early start, studies show - Tha -" She was cut off as a very un-lady like yawn came out of her mouth instead of what she wanted to say. When the yawn ceased, she mumbled, "I'm exhausted..." She glanced over at a slightly smirking Jane. "What?" She asked turning on her side so that she could fully look at her friend.

Jane shook her head and gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "I guess you're exhausted...You uh -You remember your dreams, Maur?" She asked attentively, also turning on her side so that she could see Maura better.

Closing her eyes, Maura bit the inside of her cheek. She remembered bits and pieces and nodded solemnly. "Yes...God, I'm sorry Jane..." Her eyes opened again and she sat up, running a hand over her face tiredly.

"Hey, it's okay." Jane said as she too sat up. "It's not your fault, Maura. None of this is your fault." She reassured, beginning to rub Maura's back softly. "Let's see if we can get another hour's sleep before we get up, huh? Sleep in for once in your life." Jane smiled a little as Maura looked at her with eyebrows raised. Jane countered that look with a small pout before Maura finally relented.

"Fine..." Maura grumble as Jane brought her back down to the bed. She sighed and cuddled up to Jane and closed her eyes, hoping against hope that she could have at least an hour of REM sleep sans nightmares.

An hour and a half later, Jane was up and making coffee. She was pleased that Maura was still in a fitful looking sleep. Before she left the bedroom, she had stood by the doorway, hesitant to leave. Her eyes had studied Maura's peaceful looking face, watched the steady and easy rise and fall of her chest. She looked peaceful. When Jane was satisfied that Maura would be okay, she had finally stepped out of the room.

She was now leaning against Maura's counter, elbows resting against the counter top and hands holding a steaming cup of coffee. Her eyes were closed as she held the cup under her nose, inhaling deeply and letting out a hum of approval. "Mmm... I wish I could just get an IV full of this." Jane mumbled to herself before blowing the liquid and taking a sip.

Maura's eyes fluttered open, she was unsure what woke her when she realized that her human heater was no longer keeping her warm. That human heater had also become her safe place, and when she didn't feel or see Jane, she began to panic. She could feel her pulse pick up, her heart beginning to beat erratically against her chest.

Just as her mind began to try and calm herself down, chiding herself for being so irrational, there was a loud crash in the kitchen. It scared Maura at first, but then she heard a string of mumbled curse words, her heart began to calm as she realized Jane was in the kitchen.

Jane stared down, well more like glared down at the tortoise who had retreated into his shell as much as possible. "Damn it, Bass!" She whispered harshly. "Look at the mess you made!" She grumbled through clenched teeth as she gestured wildly at the broken glass and coffee on the ground. She was about to tell off the poor tortoise some more, until there was a clearing of the throat.

Maura tried to hide the smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and stared pointedly at Jane. "Blaming my tortoise for the mess you made, Jane?" Maura shook her head and sighed, feigning disappointment.

Jane looked up sheepishly, her eyes subtly looking Maura over to make sure she was okay, before bringing her gaze back to Bass and placing a scowl on her face. "I swear, Maur! He's out to get me! He came out of nowhere and tripped me up." The detective crossed her arms and almost looked as though she were pouting as she said, "I'm gonna have bruises all over tomorrow." She grumbled as she watched Bass shuffle away. Maura chuckled but she didn't look convinced.

"I don't see how you can trip over a tortoise of his size, Jane. Honestly. He also makes a fair amount of noise when moving around here." Maura defended, knowing it would further Jane's...grumpiness and urge on their playful banter. She had missed that. It was normal, and this feeling of normalcy helped her to forget everything that had happened these past couple of days.

Jane gave a playful glare and then looked to the still moving tortoise as he worked his way out of the kitchen. "I still say he's out to get me." She mumbled, smirking at Maura's raised eyebrow. She had also missed their friendly banter, and seeing Maura smile again made her heard feel light. Shaking her head, she began to pick up the glass on the floor. "Why don't you go have a seat and I'll fix us some breakfast, huh?" Jane mused, looking up briefly as she threw away various pieces of glass.

Maura set about grabbing a few paper towels and throwing them down to soak up the coffee on the floor as Jane finished picking up the pieces of glass. She stood up straight, listening to Jane and biting the inside of her cheek. Jane wanted to fix her breakfast? "Don't you usually eat that sugary cereal...Uh...Coco puffs?" She asked, brows creased in that way when she was trying to figure something out. "You know I have some for those times you stay the night." She added, throwing away the soaked paper towels and moving to wash her hands.

"Uh, yeah I do... But...I just, I figured it'd be nice to have a good breakfast..." Jane said lamely. She was trying not to treat Maura any differently than she normally would, but the compellation and need to protect and take care of her was hard to ignore.

Maura stared at her friend a moment, studying her facial muscles. She couldn't quite read that look, so she continued to egg her friend on, hoping to rid the sudden tension in the room. "I didn't know you could cook." She teased, eliciting the intended reaction from Jane.

The dark haired detective scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "I can cook!" Jane said in feigned indignation. "I just...choose not to." She added, quietly, small smile in place. "Now, go on, go sit down." She made a show of shooing Maura out of the kitchen and turned to get started.

"What are you cooking, Jane?" Maura asked as she walked over toward the kitchen table and took a seat. She winced slightly, obviously still sore in certain areas, however she noted that her chest was feeling somewhat better.

Jane moved about the kitchen, getting out the eggs and other necessary ingredients for the breakfast she had in mind. "It's a surprise." She said from the kitchen.

Before Maura could answer, a glass of water and two Ibuprofen were set in front of her. She looked up to see Jane's retreating form as she walked back into the kitchen. "Thank you." Maura said softly, taking the pills and downing them before chasing them with a sip of water.

As Jane cooked, idle conversation filtered back and fourth between the friends. It was almost like normal, only there was this horrible feeling about it that was so not normal, like a bad aftertaste or the elephant in the room. They were dancing around the subject that brutally needed to be brought up. Jane needed a statement; before someone else came in and asked for it. Maura didn't need some stranger asking those horrible questions.

After about 10 minutes, Jane came out with a plate full of French toast and a side of cut up fruit. She set the plate down in front of Maura as well as a glass of orange juice. Jane had even topped it off with a cherry nestled in a dollop of whipped cream and powdered sugar. "See? I told you I could cook." She grinned playfully before going back to retrieve her own plate and juice.

Maura looked down at her plate and inhaled deeply, eyes closing as she smiled. "Jane this looks and smells positively delectable." She commented as she picked up her knife and fork and began cutting up her food.

Grinning, Jane took a seat and looked smug. "Wait 'til ya taste it." She said as she picked up her own fork and cut a piece off and placed it into her mouth.

"Mmmm." Maura mumbled, having tasted her breakfast. "Delicious." She complimented after chewing her bite.

Jane chuckled. "Well, to be fair..." She paused to take a sip of her OJ before continuing. "It's not that hard to make French Toast... Although it took me a while to actually learn how to make it as good as Ma. She would only cook it when she felt like it, or one of us was upset. Never when we'd ask. She'd say, 'if you want it so bad, go fix it yourself. You've got two arms and hands.'" She quoted in a nasally voice. Maura laughed softly and watched as Jane rolled her eyes. "So, I finally learned how to make it... But, I'm usually too lazy to fix it for just myself." She finished with a wave of her hand.

"Well, it's the best French Toast I've ever tasted." Maura said with a smile.

Jane blushed at that, again waving her hand and trying to brush off Maura's compliment. "Thanks." She mumbled as she forked another piece of French Toast into her mouth.

The rest of breakfast was uneventful, though that same aftertaste of dread lingered around them and threatened to swallow them whole until Jane knew she couldn't hold off any longer. As much as she hated to break the easygoing bubble that they seemed to be in, it was time to get a statement. Maura seemed to sense it as well, she looked up at Jane with trepidation as she finished the last bit of her breakfast and took a breath.

Jane slowly gathered up the dishes, trying to prolong the inevitable as she moved wordlessly back to the kitchen and set the them in the sink to be washed. When she returned, Maura had moved to the couch, hands in her lap as she fidgeted nervously.

Before Jane sat down, she grabbed a pen and a notepad. As soon as Maura felt Jane's weight on the couch, her heart rate picked up. Jane sighed and placed a hand on Maura's knee. "Hey, I know this is gonna be hard, but let's get it over with. If you need time to think or you have to take a moment, just tell me. We can stop." She said softly, watching as Maura slowly turned her head to look at the detective.

Jane was using her 'victim voice' on her, Maura couldn't help but inwardly cringe at it. She had heard that voice so many times, but never had she thought it would be used on her. She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes, allowing the tears that she had been holding back, fall. "O-Okay." She finally stammered, letting out a breath as she felt Jane's hand on her arm.

Swallowing thickly, Jane worked to keep her emotions in check before she nodded. "Whenever you're ready, why don't you just tell me what happened from the beginning." She said, poising her pen over the notepad to write.

"I-I don't re-remember a lot, Jane. My mind...I-It seems t-to have b-blocked out a lot... B-But, I'll tell you w-what I remember..." She stammered. There was a bout of silence after that, before Maura finally spoke again. Her voice was weak and trembling and it took everything Jane had not to drop her pen and pad and just console her friend. "I uhm...I remember b-being in the...in the morgue after we..." A pause. "I mean, Jane and I had lunch." She corrected herself, knowing this was a statement and she wasn't just talking to Jane.

Jane nodded softly, writing everything down and managing to give her friend comfort at the same time as she placed a hand on Maura's shoulder. Sighing, Maura continued. "I h-had just f-finished an autopsy for a-another detective..." She mumbled, snuffling and running a shaky hand over her face.

"And which detective was that?" Jane asked softly, eyeing her friend worriedly.

"D-detective C-crowe." Maura answered, swallowing thickly. "I was c-cleaning u-up and uhm..." She rubbed her temples, her eyes clamped shut as she tried to remember. "...I had my b-back t-to the door, d-disinfecting t-the table w-when I heard s-someone behind me..." A pause to take a shuddering breath. "I went t-to...to turn a-around b-but I-I was grabbed f-from behind..." Tears started to fall now and she breathed heavier. "I-I tried to f-fight them o-off, Ja..ne, I...I really d...did. B-But...t-they overp...powered m-me a-and hit me over the-the he...ead w-with something... E-everything w...went b-black." Maura was full on crying now, wringing her hands together.

Jane finished writing down everything Maura said before setting her pen and pad aside to comfort Maura a moment before they continued. "Hey... Shhhh, it's okay. Breathe." She murmured softly as she hugged Maura awkwardly from the side. Maura did as instructed until the tears slowed and she took a steadying breath.