So this one's a bit longer than normal, but I think you'll forgive me from the break of disturbingly short one-shots :)
I do not own Rizzoli and Isles or its characters.
They had gone down to the harbor to interview a suspect. What started off as routine quickly turned into a hostage situation, the drug-induced man snatching a boy no older than four from his mother, holding a gun to his head. Things escalated as Jane gave orders and pleas to think of the kid's life, to think of his own life, things he was throwing away.
He snapped. Shoving the boy into the harbor, he made a run for it. Jane didn't think twice. She dove into the water headfirst.
She hadn't anticipated how shallow it was. Her head collided with the stone marina floor. As her vision blacked out, as her head spun, she hoped the boy was okay. She hoped Frost or Korsak had helped him, because she definitely wouldn't be.
She felt herself lose consciousness and then felt nothing else.
When she awoke, she knew she was in a hospital. The beeping, the hushed voices, the smell she could never place (which made her loath it all the more) made her environment very clear, even with eyes shut.
When they finally drifted open, Jane saw her wife sitting in the cushy chair in the corner, staring out the window with a contemplative demeanor.
Oh yeah, she was in deep shit for this.
"Maur," she called softly, her wife's eyes meeting her own briefly before turning to once again study the street view.
"Do you remember what happened?"
Jane blinked. "Wha…yeah. I…I dove in the water, right? I must have hit my head."
Maura nodded, standing.
"Good. No signs of amnesia. I'll go alert the nurse that you're awake."
And she left. Jane felt as if she'd been slapped across the face.
The next few hours were a blur. She was thoroughly examined by several nurses and a doctor, briefed on the situation by Frost (the boy was fine, and Korsak had jumped in when Jane hadn't resurfaced), and had spoken with her frenzied mother on the phone, assuring her that there was nothing to worry about. Throughout all of this, Maura remained distant, barely sparing her a glance.
She was eventually deemed stable enough to leave her prison, her concussion symptoms wearing off. Under strict orders of bed rest and Tylenol, she was wheelchaired out (this part against her will) by Maura.
The ride home was silent and tense. Maura's gaze never left the road and Jane surrendered, holding her pounding head in her hands. They soon returned home, Maura extinguishing the engine and slamming her door as she made her way to the house. Jane hadn't even unbuckled her seat belt.
Sighing, she got out of the car and entered her home, shutting the door gently before searching for Maura. Not finding her in the kitchen or living room, Jane knew she must have retreated to their bedroom.
Pushing the closed door, she noticed drawn blinds and the lack of lighting in the room before finally settling on Maura, arms folded as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Maura, listen…" Jane began, but as if a switch had flipped, her wife transformed from someone stoic and reserved to an absolute mess of tears.
Rushing to join her on the bed, Jane wrapped her arms around the M.E.
"Shhh...shhh, everything's fine, I'm fine, okay?" She smoothed her rough palms over Maura's back, feeling her wracking sobs as they consumed her body.
"You can't...not fine...Jane...has to stop."
Jane sighed in exasperation, surprised at how her blood began to boil, how the stress of the day had added up to this moment where she chose to pick a fight with her distraught wife.
"You knew. You knew when you married me that there'd be risks. This is not on me, Maura." Her voice was deep and warning.
Standing to pace the room, Jane couldn't believe that a mere 16 hours ago, she and Maura had awoken in the bliss that always accompanied them in the early hours of the morning, wrapped up in each other.
"I'm sorry my job isn't safe. I really am. I'm sorry I'm not what you deserve. But I'm not sorry for the lives I've protected, that we've protected."
Suddenly, she wasn't thinking about the things that separated them. She wasn't thinking about her gun or her badge. She was thinking about their victories, the redemption they had found in their partnership at work and in their relationship at home. Suddenly, she was Jane once again, the Jane that needed Maura like a drug.
"I'm sorry all this breaks your heart, Maura, because I never meant to hurt you."
Jane softened, her anger quickly fading. How could she take this out on her? Filled with regret, she sat back down next to the doctor, gathering her in her strong arms, fingers tangling in her hair.
"I'm so sorry, so sorry. I'm trying to stay out of trouble, I really am. I love you."
Kissing Maura's temple, she whispered her stream of consciousness into her ear. Wedding vows blurred with late-night promises, words they'd said what felt like eons ago but that rang true now more than ever.
"Talk to me, sweetheart. Please, I'm so sorry."
Maura took a deep breath, attempting to steady herself as she fought off the gasps that had accompanied her tears.
"Jane... It worked."
"What worked, baby?" Jane replied.
"It...Jane, the... the procedure took. I'm pregnant. It worked."
Jane's heart skipped a beat. How could she have forgotten? Today was the day, the first day Maura could run the blood test after the fertilization procedure and receive an accurate report of its effectiveness. The chaos of the night had erased her mind of what it was previously fixated upon.
And suddenly, she felt like her heart would burst out of her chest. They'd already been through four months of failed insemination, and it had been getting harder and harder to remain hopeful.
"Maur...are you sure? Really?" The smile in her voice was uncontainable as she cradled her wife's face in her hands, watching puffy, red eyes fill with hope.
"Really." She nodded and began to fall apart once again.
Jane pressed a firm kiss to Maura's lips before enveloping her in a massive hug. She felt her wife's body begin to shake once more.
"I thought I lost you today. You can't leave us, Jane. You can't."
"Shhh, I'm never going to leave you, never. I have a family to come home to now."
"Love you," Maura whispered as she clutched her detective.
Jane pulled away slightly, pressing a hand to Maura's still-flat stomach.
"Love you both," she responded, kissing her wife once again.
They were silent for a while, reflecting on Jane's latest near-death experience and the miracle that was their child growing inside of Maura.
"God, Ma's gonna flip."
They had decided not to tell anyone they were trying to have a baby until Maura was actually pregnant.
The blond smiled for the first time that night.
"We're having a baby, Jane."
They both grinned and held each other close, worry, excitement, fear, exhaustion, and love combining as they ended a day they would never forget.
As always, thanks for reading and please review