Jane unlocked the door, sliding her temporary key through the slot. There was a slight buzzing, before the door swung open. LeViad nodded once to them, heading for the room in the back as they both disappeared into the room. Maura glanced at the holding cells, and sucked in a breath. Jane's hand rested against her lower back as she looked for a few moments longer than really necessary.
"You don't have to do this, you know." She whispered, gently. Maura shook her head.
"You don't understand."
"Enlighten me." Maura drew a deep breath closing her eyes briefly.
"They always used to ask me... Are you here to save us? Every time, Jane. Every language, even the few that I didn't understand. The question was always the same. Are you here to save us? I could never say yes. I always, always wanted to. To tell them that it would be alright. To them help was coming. They're all so young. So innocent." She pulled her hair back, twisting it up into a high ponytail. "I used to tell them the truth, that I was one of them. That they would be alright as long as I was there. It was a lie, and I would suffer from it, but it was worth every moment of the itching and the hyperventilation. It was worth seeing them happy for a few moments of their lives." Jane's hand tightened on her waist, and her eyes traced the scar on the blonde's neck.
"They marked you?!"
"Jane, they mark all girls-"
"You are not all girls, Maura! You're... You're mine, damn it! And they... They branded you?!" Maura looked away. She knew what the brand looked like; it was actually something that could have been kind of pretty. It was a swallow, wings bridled outward in a landing pose. Clasped in its talons was what seemed to be a scroll, but she couldn't bear to think much about it.
"I told you they would trust me. I got out Jane. That's all they all want." Her voice had lowered, and she stopped at the last door. Their lips brushed lightly, before she took the card from the raven- haired detective.
"I..." She shook her head. "Maura, I'm-"
"Don't say you're sorry. Just don't. I already know, I swear." Jane nodded, and Maura slid the key card down through the reader. There was a moment of silence, before every siren possible was wailing at full volume. Maura turned, startled, as Jane drew her gun, firing at the lock in the briefest heartbeat.
"Go, Maura! Get them out! I'll keep you safe." The medical examiner nodded. "This time. I swear it." She fired at the next doors, locks shattering, girls screaming. Maura ducked inside, holding the door open with one hand.
"Come on, come with me." She whispered. "We're trying to break you out." They were young, and they were scared. She knew that. One of them blocked the smaller ones with her arms, standing between Maura and the huddled girls. Her eyes were a dark blue, nearly violet, and her hair was a shocking red.
"Kak ya mogu veritʹ? Ty lzheshʹ! Ty odin iz nikh!"How can I believe you? You lie! You're one of them! Maura shook her head, pointing to the darkened scar below her left ear, at the lowest section of her hairline.
"Ya byl odnim iz vas, tozhe." I was one of you, also. The girl's eyes widened in shock, and she backed further away. Maura reached for her badge, untying it. The dim light flickered across her ring, catching on the girl's eyes.
"Oh my god, she looks like... Me." Natasha whispered. Maura held out the Boston commonwealth badge, letting it hang there between them.
"Oni prinyali menya, i ya byl pomolvlen spolitsyeĭskim. Pozvolʹte mne vam vse." They took me, and I was engaged to a cop. Let me get you all out. The girl reached forward, brushing her fingers against the plastic laminated edge, before nodding.
"Nadyeyusʹ, vy." I trust you.
"Spasibo." Thank you. The girl nodded, whispering to her companions to make them rise up, follow Maura in their frightened huddle. The blonde turned at a hand on her elbow, as she went into the second compartment, and then the third. It was the red- haired girl that looked like Nat.
"Mogu li ya bytʹ , kak vy v odin prekrasnyĭ denʹ ? Mogu li ya spasti lyudyeĭ tozhe?"Can I be like you one day? Can I save people too? Maura nodded, ducking into the fourth cell as she did so, and then the fifth.
"Da. No teperʹ, vy dolzhny zapustitʹ . Idi, i poluchitʹ vtoroĭ shans."Yes. But now, you have to run. Go, and get your second chance. She looked up at Maura for a long moment, before nodding, and joining the next group that Jane led out. For every cell, it was the same. There were shots fired at the door, by Jane, by others. Maura wasn't sure. She focused on talking to the girls; figuring out what language they spoke speaking accordingly, getting them out. She was at her tenth, when Jane cried out for her. Her head snapped up, and she pushed the last of the girls from the cell she was in, withdrawing her own firearm. "Jane?"
"Maura! We have to go, now!" The urgency in her voice couldn't be mistaken, but the medical examiner stared at the last of the cages. She fired at the one that Jane hadn't gotten to, that she hadn't reached yet. "Maura, no! Come on, we have to-"
"I'm not leaving them!" There wasn't enough time for pleasantries, she shouted at the group of children, rushing them out of the door as quickly as she could. Jane cursed, when she joined her at the door, turning around the door jam to fire.
"Have I told you how much I fucking love you?"
"Every day of my life. But I love hearing it." Maura pressed her back against Jane's checking the direction they had to go to get to LeViad. "Get my back, Jane." She shouted in various languages, motioning for the girls to stay between them, before the detective moved out into the hall, followed only a millisecond by the doctor. She kicked at the door to the next hall, opening it further, firing at the man who was grappling with LeViad. He fell, and she pushed the girls through. The man nodded when he saw her, breaking out into a fast jog towards the back door. She picked up a run in her heels; something she had learned to followed her closely, as she paused beside LeViad.
"They're outside too. Snipers. Don't want anyone shot, if we can help it. Especially not you." She shook her head.
"I'm not worried about me. Nat, give me a full around view. Tell me the way out mini- Google."
"You'll just have to run. Really fast. Korsak and Frost are protecting the last van, you'll see them. And they're waiting for you." The medical examiner nodded, glancing behind her.
"Its a last sprint!" Jane called out a command to go, and Maura raised her gun, aiming at someone she hoped was an enemy, firing at the knee cap, jostling the girls towards the two other detectives. She pressed her back against the van, searching he fray briefly for Jane. "Frost where's Jane? Nat-"
"Still inside." She took off back across the clearing that was filled with gunfire.
"No! Maura, don't you dare!" But she was gone before she had even heard Frost's words. She wouldn't leave Jane behind, the same way the detective had never given up on her.
"You... I should have known it was the woman. You had too much money. You were too good." Maura stopped; it sounded like... Like Pentral, the man Jane had been sitting with.
"And I should have known that you were behind this all. You were always there, and you never really purchased much. Perhaps we both misjudged one another." Maura heard the guns clicking, being set. "You crossed the wrong bitch though, Fred. You remember that solo sale LeViad got last auction?"
"Of course I do, she was one of my finest sellers. Big bust, high price. Older than she looked, pretty enough that no one really noticed. Got seventy- five for her from that bastard. Then my agents fucked it up, and I didn't get her back after." His lips twisted in a smirk.
"She had a life before you took her, Pentral."
"They all do, Othran. You seem pissier than usual; what's eating you up inside? Was she a friend or some sappy shit like that?" Maura slid the catch off of her own gun, stepping out carefully.
"She's my wife, you fucker!" His eyes flickered for a brief moment, before her pulled the trigger, barrel aimed at Jane. Three bangs echoed, and the detective crumpled at nearly the same moment that the man did.
"Jane!"
"NO! Paramedics to the scene, now! Major shooting, agent down! Frost, Korsak! Jane's been hit! Turn that fucking van around!" Maura slid one hand against her neck, checking for a pulse as she applied pressure to the open wound. Blood flowed strongly over her fingers, and Maura shook her head, trying to get rid of the tears that were welling there.
"No. You are not aloud to die, Jane. You are not aloud to leave me." She pulled off her shawl, dropping it on the other woman in her haste.
"I've been shot in the thigh, Maur. Not the head or something." The detective bit back sarcastically, face pinched painfully. "It just stinks is all. I- Holy fuck!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've got to get the bullet out, and then I'll wrap it and we'll find pain medication or something and... you know how it all goes." She whispered, someone approaching beside her, hurrying. She raised the pistol, when LeViad held up his hands.
"What can I do to help?" The blonde just nodded, thinking.
"Restrain her arms, from the elbow." He placed his hands where he was told, looking over to her as she braced the leg between her own. "This'll hurt like a bitch."
"Like that time I cut your leg open for you?"
"Just like that." Maura whispered, pressing her fingers against the wound, before biting down on her lip and reaching for the bullet. Jane cried out, her body convulsing before she blacked out. "God, I hate working on live victims." Maura whispered to herself, pulling the red- coated artifact from he lover's leg.
"Who the hell are you two?" LeViad asked, staring at her as she ripped a shred from her dress, wrapping the wound tightly in her black shawl, pressing down on it hard with her left hand as she maneuvered the red strip around Jane's thigh.
"Homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and the Chief Medical Examiner from the Boston Commonwealth, Maura Isles." She stated, tying the ribbon off tightly, before checking for blood flow to the lower section of her leg. "It'll do for now. She needs medical attention, however. Natasha?"
"Right outside. Trying to get closer. There's still a lot of gunning going on out there, and Frost is stuck right in the middle of it."
"Can we get out and to the right, down the alley?" Nat confirmed that it was risky, but they could try. Maura raised her hands to her face, shaking her head.
"I'll carry her." LeViad told her, sliding a hand beneath the detective's legs, careful of the bandage. "I never understood why she was looking for someone, never understood who it was. Didn't even understand when I came across Faith Hunter, and she refused to give up unless she had her. You... How did they take you away from her?" Maura shook her head, shrugging.
"I couldn't tell you. Traumatic amnesia is known to have permanent repercussions, and I can't remember much past that morning. Nearly a year ago." They slid through the shadows, half way through the alleys when Jane stirred.
"Maur?"
"Right here Jane, stay quiet. We're getting you out, so just hold tight."
"The girls?"
"They're all alright."
"Frost and Korsak?"
"In the middle of a gun fight."
"Typical. Stealing all the fun for themselves." LeViad smirked, and Maura nearly laughed herself. "Hey Maur."
"Yes Jane?"
"I shot the fuck that took you away."
"I know. And I'm so glad you did." She saw the ambulance, pointing to it and earning a nod from the man who had remained silent through their conversation. They moved out into the open, paramedics surrounding them almost instantly, lowering a stretcher for the detective, everyone trying to speak to the coroner all at once. Maura caught the man's wrist before he could escape, pulling him back. "Have you ever considered joining the police department? You... We couldn't have done this without you."
"I hadn't considered it, Doctor Isles. But perhaps I should have. I always did believe much the same things that Othran did." He nodded head.
"So you'll think on it?" She couldn't help the hope in her voice.
"I make no promises." He stated, slipping back into the shadowed alleyway, as Maura climbed up into the back of the ambulance, despite the protests from various EMTs. Immediately, she reached for Jane's hand, earning herself a pained smile from the detective.
"Hey, Maur."
"Yes Jane?" She whispered, resting her chin on her hand as she held back her own tears; adrenaline no longer keeping her going. "What is it?"
"Is it over?" The medical examiner nodded.
"I believe that this segment of our supremely difficult, complicated lives is. But it will probably only stay that way for a short time, since we do work for the good of Boston." The detective groaned.
"Maura Isles. Yes. No. I thought we practiced this." The medical examiner smirked, placing a chaste kiss on the detective's lips.
"Yes."
AN- so that's it, minus the bow. And it was a little bit longer than I thought it would have been! Okay, so I was watching season two yesterday and this morning, and I got the funniest pause screen fails. Too bad ff wont let you post links in your stories, right? Awe damn. Anyway, just the epilogue to go!
~SnapTobiume