Hello all. All I have to say is wow! I am so humbled by all of the positive review and messages about this little story. Seems like everyone likes the longer more detailed chapters, so from here on out I am going to do my best to keep up with popular demand.
I do not own Rizzoli and Isles. Just had a story idea one night and it has come to life. Hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.
Chapter 9
Four hours after the surgeon came in to give them an update there was another knock on the door and the same short blonde nurse from the night before walked through the door.
"Detective Rizzoli, you can come with me." The nurse says.
Jane sprinted out of the door and was a quarter of the way down the hall before she realized the nurse was trying to keep up. She slowed down and allowed the nurse to lead the way to fourth floor, to room 433.
"She is still heavily sedated but you can go in. Talk to her, I like to think even when they are under they can still hear us." She offers up a small smile before pushing the door open and ushering Jane through. As Jane steps through the door the nurse closes it behind her to give them privacy.
"Maura." The name falls from Jane's lips barely above a whisper.
Jane clenches her fists and her jaw as she looks upon the figure in the bed. The person lying before her has gauze wrapped around her head, a huge deep bluish purple bruise under her left eye, both hands are wrapped with gauze as well and there are a number of wires sticking out of the hospital gown leading to the monitors on the wall. This can't be Maura, they must have made a mistake. The brunette's mind tries to ease her into the situation. She makes a few steps over to the bed and looks down at the woman lying before her. The woman's skin is gray, her hair is a dull blonde and she seems so small.
After about ten minutes of just staring at Jane finally allowed herself to truly see the person lying in the hospital bed before her. It was Maura, the brunette has spent enough time over the years staring at this woman to not know those lips, the spacing between her eyes, the slope of her nose. The confirmation hits the detective like a ton of bricks. She feels utterly helpless, she would give anything to just be able to hold the M.E.'s hand. But that son of a bitch has taken that from her too.
"Maura, I am so, so sorry. This is all my fault, I never meant for you to ever get hurt. I didn't know by you being my best friend you would have a target on your back. I'm so sorry." She says softly as she looks over the rail of the bed. The brunette takes a shaky breath before leaning down and lightly pressing her lips to Maura's forehead. "I love you, please come back to me." She whispers.
The detective stand and retrieves the chair from the corner of the room and pulls it right next to the bed. She is not sure if she is allowed to or not but that doesn't stop her from carefully lowering the rail of the bed. She takes a seat in the chair and chews on her cheek nervously as she gently lays her hands one Maura's forearm, that seems to be the only place on the honey blonde's body that hasn't been damaged. Jane gasps at the initial contact. She is used to Maura being so warm and full of life, but now she is cold to the touch. Jane lays her head down next to Maura's arm, she turns her head and sobs silently into the room.
After the brunette has exhausted all her tears she turns her head back to look over at her best friend. Her thumb rubs over Maura's forearm, she barely uses any pressure to ensure she doesn't hurt the honey blonde. The monitor on the wall beeps steadily in the background. The brunette have been alone in the room for a little over two hours and Maura still hasn't moved, she hasn't said anything. Jane knows that they are keeping Maura sedated for a while it doesn't stop her from wanting, no needing to see those beautiful hazel eyes and hear that soft voice. She takes a deep breath and picks her head up, wiping away the few tears that begun to fall again.
"Maura, I don't know if you can hear me. And I am sure you'd be spouting off a whole lot of Google Mouth at me right now about whether or not it is actually possible. The nurse that brought me up to you told me that talking to you would help and that you might be able to hear me. So here it goes, you have no idea how long I have wanted to tell you this. And I know I have no right to even be telling you this because you are here because of me. God, I am so sorry." She sniffles and continues to rub Maura's arm.
"You aren't even awake and I can barely tell you. I don't ever want to lose you and I am afraid what I am about to say will change our friendship forever. I love you Maura. No, I didn't say that right. I am in love with you Maura Isles. I don't even know when it happened. I think when I was careless and shot myself to save Frankie and I woke up that night and saw you asleep in the chair next to me. Holding my hand." Tears stream down her cheeks and her voice waivers. "You never knew I woke up that night. But even in my drugged up state I managed to stay awake for for a whole five minutes and I stared at you. I brushed a stray strand of hair behind your ear and when my hand brushed your cheek you nuzzled against it. That's when I knew, I was hopelessly in love with you. And I need you to come back to me, please. And I promise I will grow a pair of balls and tell you, you just have to come back to me first." Jane stands and places another gentle kiss on Maura's forehead before sitting back down and resting her head next to the honey blonde's arm. Not long after resting her head the brunette's eyes close.
Four hours after Jane drifted off to sleep the surgeon knocks on the door. The brunette shoots out of her chair and her hand instantly goes to her belt for her gun. Her eyes go wide when she comes up empty handed. But she breathes a sigh of relief when the man walks through the door.
"Good morning Detective Rizzoli." He says and extends his hand, which the brunette takes and gives a firm shake.
"Good morning Dr. Paxton. Is everything alright? Is Maura okay?" She turns back to look at the M.E.
"I'm here to do a quick exam. She did surprisingly well overnight, her vitals stayed stable which is quite a great development." He leans over the bed and uses his pen light to check Maura's eyes. He pulls the front of her gown down and checks the stitches before covering her back up. He turns to the detective.
"Is.." Jane says as her voice cracks.
"She is making progress, I think that we can start weaning her off the sedatives. It will take a few hours but if and it's a big if, there is no lasting neurological damage. She could wake up sometime this evening or tomorrow morning. I'm going to go ahead and let the nurses know that two of you can be in here at a time. I have come to realize you are not leaving this room until she wakes up. And I also know there are many others that would like to visit."
"Thank you." Is all Jane can manage before turning and taking a seat.
A new nurse comes in can switches out her I.V. bag and leaves without saying a word. Jane is thankful to everyone here. They all seem to know that she is in no mood for ideal chit chat. Throughout the day Korsak, Frost and her mother have come up to check up on Maura and try to get Jane to go and get some fresh air. She quickly dismissing their ideas, her mother is the last to leave. She gives her daughter a kiss on the top of her head. Jane settles in her chair as she had the night before.
Maura squints, there is a light above over. She tries to move her head but a pain shoots through her skull. She looks down and the first thing she sees is a mane of unruly raven curls covering her right arm. She can't help but smile when she catches sight of her best friend. She looks around to gather her surroundings. She doesn't remember being brought here, she remembers being taken. The last thing she remembers is her attacker pointing his gun at her and Jane rushing through the door and everything going black. It's dark outside the windows and she isn't sure how long she has been here.
"J.." Maura attempts to speak but her mouth and throat is so dry. She desperately needs to get the detectives attention. She clears her throat and moves the arm that Jane is lying besides.
The brunette feels something rubbing against her cheek. Her head pops up and her eyes fill with tears when she sees hazel eyes staring back down at her. She inhales sharply before standing and going to the head of the bed.
"Hey, how are you feeling? Do I need to get a doctor?" Jane's voice is thick with emotion and she cannot stop the tears from falling.
"No, water?" Is all the M.E. can get out. Jane quickly reaches in the bag her mother brought her earlier and retrieve a bottle of water. She opens the cap and gently presses the bottle to Maura's lips and tilts it allowing to get a small sip.
"Maura, I am so glad you ca..you are awake." She smiles through her tears and she is conflicted as to whether she should tell her best friend how she feels. She has been through so much and she doesn't want to give her more stress to deal with.
"Thank you. You saved my life." Maura's voice is hoarse and seeing Jane's tears causes tears to well in her own eyes. She cannot take her eyes off of the detective, her best friend, the woman who saved her. Her mind begins to race with everything she told herself she would tell Jane if she ever got out of that place. Her current physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional pain she would be put through if Jane left because she admitted her true feelings. Jane made up Maura's mind for her when she leaned over the bed and gently kissed her cheek.
"Maura, I'm in love with you." Jane whispers. The moment Maura's hazel eyes met her own she knew there was no way she could waste anymore time. She needed to state her true feelings, she needed to take that chance. It was now or never for Jane. she has spent the last few years trying to fight and hide her feelings. She didn't think it was right to fall in love with her best friend. But maybe that's the beauty of it. But maybe it will be her undoing. She pulls back to look her best friend in the eyes and to try and gauge her reaction to Jane's confession.
Maura's mouth drops open and her breath hitches as she hears the brunette whisper in her ear. Jane pulls away from her cheek and Maura swears she is staring straight into her soul. If she wasn't feeling so sore and slightly high from the medication she would have wrapped her arms around the detective before she could have pulled away.
"Oh my god Jane." She barely gets her words out before Jane takes a step back from the bed.
"I'm sorry Maura, I know I shouldn't feel like this and you don't feel the same about me. And.." Jane rambles on before she is cut off my the honey blonde.
"Shut up Jane. You wouldn't let me finish. Will you please let me finish?" Maura asks and Jane simply nods. Her throat is still terribly dry and nods towards the bottle and Jane automatically brings the bottle back to her lips. She smiles at the small gesture that has been a staple in their friendship for so long now. One of them needs something and the other just knows. No words are even required, it's why they work so well together.
"Like I was trying to say. I am in love with you too. I have been for quite some time now. And from your ramblings it seems our fears were the same. I was always too scared to tell you for fear of losing my best friend. I need you in my life Jane." Maura's voice cracks and she tries to sit up in the bed but the brunette stops her.
"No, please lay back you need rest. If you insist I will raise the head of the bed." When the honey blonde nods Jane grabs the little remote hanging on the side rail and raises the bed a few inches. "We have a lot to talk about, but please I need you to rest. I need you to be okay. I'm not going anywhere. Will you please try and get some sleep?"
"Will you please hug me? I really, really need you Jane. I was so scared and all I could think about was you."
"I don't want to hurt you Maura." The detective says softly.
"You won't, you couldn't." With great effort Maura raises and opens her arms.
Jane steps closer to the bed and lightly wraps her arms around Maura. Both women close their eyes and hold on to one another for what could have been days for all they cared. Nothing else mattered, this was a long time coming and neither were in a rush to let go. Jane was the first to pull back, seeing the tears stream down Maura's cheeks breaks her heart. She gently wipes them away with her thumbs.
"Will you please lay back and try to go to sleep. I am not leaving your side I promise." Jane smiles and takes her seat this time she pulls it closer to the head of the bed.
Maura relents, she still has a good amount of drugs in her system plus the slight pain she feels, added with the emotional revelations they just shared have proven too much. She settles back against her pillows and closes her eyes.
Jane sits in her chair rubbing the M.E's arm softly, once she is sure Maura has fallen asleep she lays her head down on the bed and drifts off to sleep as well.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I promised Rizzles would happen but I do apologize for how long it took. As always please leave me a review and let me know what you all think.