between your ribs

Five hundred apologies for the delay in updating! I hope you're still interested in this, let me know...

Chapter Seven:

October 1st, 2015.

Constance says yes.

Angela is a mess when Jane picks her up at lunch time. Fixing her hair in the mirror for an unusually long time, insisting that she change clothes – Jane understands the nerves, but patience has never been her strong point. She ends up pulling her ma out of her apartment even as she protests.

"I made her lasagne," Angela says in the car, clutching the box of food in her hands. "She likes my lasagne."

"She's on a strict diet, ma, I don't think she'll be allowed – "

"That hospital food is bland and you know it. Nothing beats a good home cooked meal," Angela insists.

Jane bites her tongue. This is the first time that her mother's been allowed to feel… helpful, since Maura disappeared. Though she wanted to, she couldn't assist in the investigation. Of course she couldn't. And nobody in the family had the money to help the Isles look after Maura's estate.

When they pull up at the clinic, Jane pretends she doesn't notice her mother's hands shaking. The nurse at the reception knows her face now and grants her access to the building, letting her lead her Angela to Maura's room. Before she can open the door, Angela grips her forearm.

"Jane…"

"Ma?"

Angela blinks rapidly, fighting back tears, and Jane steps forwards to slide an arm around her shoulders. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"What if she hates me too?"

"Oh, Ma."

Angela folds into her hug easily, the box of food digging into their stomachs between them. There are no tears, just the unsteady hitch of Angela's breathing as Jane stares at the end of the corridor over her shoulder. Doesn't think about the woman inside the room. The screaming. The pain. The Why didn't you save me, Jane?

"She won't," Jane assures her, pulling away to look Angela in the eyes. "You're not the cause of her pain. She'll be so happy to see you."

Angela nods, still silent, and Jane squeezes her shoulders one more time before stepping away.

The room is slightly lighter again. Easy to see in. Standing in the doorway as her mother approaches Maura's bedside slowly, she notes that the necklace of bruises around her neck is beginning to fade. The spaces beneath her eyes are bright red now, eyes puffy, and Jane clenches her fists at the realisation that she's been crying. Alone.

"Hi Maura," Angela sits beside her timidly, holding the box out between them. "I brought you lasagne. I know you're not supposed to eat it because of your special diet, but…"

Maura looks away from the window slowly and Jane holds her breath.

A real, genuine and warm smile brightens Maura's pallid skin for the first time since she had been found.

"Hello, Angela."

The tears roll from her mother's eyes then. She drops the lasagne on the bed between them and reaches for Maura, holding her tightly. It is a private moment – and beautiful – so Jane steps away, closing the door behind her and leaning her forehead against it.

Why didn't you save me, Jane?

When she arrives to work that afternoon, she learns that they've found a lead on Kyle. Phillips's informant from one of Boston's most mediocre gangs has spun tales of Kyle hiding out with one of his father's old partners in crime – Billy Three Hands, as his nickname served, due to a large birth defect he'd been born with that resulted in one of his hands growing eight fingers and a thumb. Real name William Stone.

She finds Ito rooting around through old case files on Stone, down in the precinct's record room. The light is dull and artificial, but she can't help chuckling when she spots the Agent sitting with his spine resting against the case files and paper surrounding him on the floor.

"Well, I can't say you're not committed," Jane says, stacking a few papers to the side so she can sit beside him. "Anything?"

Ito shakes his head. "He hasn't gotten in trouble with the law since he was released back in '89. Hardly any electronic records to date. I thought there'd be something more here… Some sign of where he might be hiding with Kyle."

He stops suddenly. "How'd it go with Doctor Isles and your mom?"

Jane shrugs. "I waited outside. Drove here when Ma was done. She was… quiet after."

Ito shifts his hands nervously, busying himself with the documents before him. He's alright, Jane thinks, for a kid. She likes having him as a partner on this case. She may have had doubts about him and his age to begin with, but he's more than proved his worth and has become a friend of sorts to her.

"You know, Rizzoli, I finished my training a year ahead of the rest of my class."

She rolls her eyes, resting her head back against the files behind her. "If you're looking for a gold star, you're not getting one from me."

"I didn't mean – " Ito shakes his head, laughing. "They graduated me early. Shipped me straight out on an undercover mission with a Japanese gang operating in Arizona. Human trafficking. They said I was the only one they could trust my age with the mission, the only one fitting the right boxes who was also fluent in Japanese. Being as egotistical as I am, I went in there thinking it'd be easy… And, I guess, as undercover missions go, it was."

"Undercover missions can be tough," Jane adds.

"They can," Ito agrees. "Three weeks into my cover I'd proved myself enough to the gang. They let me in on their dealings. What those girls went through… Regardless, I thought things were going well. And I guess you could say they were. I gathered intel quickly and efficiently and as long as I kept my mind off of what was happening to the girls I couldn't save, things were going well. My mentor told me that there was only two weeks left into my cover left, tops. And then I met the leader – Hayashi – and his daughter."

Jane feels a grin tugging at her mouth. "You met a girl."

Ito laughs. "Yeah, I met a girl. Her name was Mai. And… and I don't know, I suppose it was too fast to say I fell in love. But it felt strong. It felt like love."

Love. Jane thinks of the soft warmth of Maura – round, welcoming smiles and warm, petite hands. Comforting touches and understanding glances.

All gone now.

"Mai was soft in the way that the life around her was tough and brittle. She was into me too, you know. I'm quite a stud."

Jane knocks his shoulder with hers. "Sure you are, Mister Ego."

They fall silent, and Jane looks back at the files in front of them. William Stone. One man. That's all it takes, sometimes, she thinks idly, letting the tips of her fingers press against his mug shot. Sometimes all it takes is one person to change your life forever.

"You had to leave her?"

Ito purses his lips, nodding. "When they stormed the place, arrested her father, his men… She knew it was me. Right away. She looked straight at me and I knew there was nothing I could ever do to make that right again."

"I never took you for a quitter."

Ito is silent for a moment. Pensive. He busies himself with the paper in front of him, sifting aimlessly in the same way she does. They both know there's nothing here. No way to guess where he might be hiding out, out-dated records proving to be just that. Distantly, she hears the sound of footsteps. Clunky ones, a couple rows away.

"They arrested her too."

"Shit," Jane curses.

"Yeah."

He shakes his head. "Anyway, I thought I'd never get over it. And sometimes, when I think about it, it sucks. But at the time, I thought, shit. I'm one mission into this and it's so heavy already. You know? But it got better. Things do get better. Maybe not in the way that you want them to, but they do."

Jane shrugs, and when she doesn't reply, he speaks again. "Straight after that mission Phillips recruited me onto her team. Said she needed – and I quote her – unassuming, strong agents. So. Things did get better. They are better."

Looking down at her hands, Jane nods. She flexes them, watches the muted scars ripple with her skin. Hoyt had haunted her for so long.

But Hoyt has faded.

This will too.

October 5th, 2015.

She is not the one who catches Kyle Matthews.

Phillips's source had been right. Kyle had been hiding out with Stone, an old friend of his father's. During one of the rare nights Jane had allowed herself sleep back in her apartment, one of the agents had run into an actual solid lead on the tip line. Stone had been hiding out in an apartment just a mile out of Boston, harbouring a fugitive.

They'd called her as they were escorting Matthews back.

She's already at the precinct, waiting, when they arrive with Kyle and Stone in tow. Barely five in the morning and she thinks the shirt she'd pulled on is a little crumpled, but even without coffee every edge of her is awake, vibrating with energy. This is it. This is what they've been waiting for. This is closure.

Phillips pulls her aside, a hand on her elbow.

"I'll let you in on this with me, Rizzoli, if you promise me you can restrain yourself."

"I can."

Phillips's look hardens. "I mean it, Rizzoli. You treat him any differently to any other suspect, and you're out."

Jane nods. "Yes Ma'am."

Kyle is slimmer than he had seemed in photos and videos. As she takes a seat across from him in interrogation, she gives him a once over. His hands are trembling, knees jittering and bumping against the underside of the table, his face pale and sunken. Too many drugs will have that effect. Paranoia, too, she imagines. Still. He's so… weak. She can't connect him with the man that stole Maura from her.

"Mr Matthews," Phillips begins, placing a file in front of her. "I'm Agent Phillips with the FBI, this is Detective Rizzoli. You understand why you're here today."

Kyle nods eagerly. "Y – yes I do, ma'am."

"You understand that we're here regarding the abduction and subsequent mistreatment of Doctor Maura Isles?"

"Yes. Yes, Ma'am."

Phillips clasps her hands on the table. "Do you admit to the abduction of Doctor Isles?"

Kyle shakes his head instantly. "It – it wasn't me. It – it was me. My sister. It was my sister's idea. I didn't want my sister to get hurt, ya – ya know? I wanted to help her."

Phillips raises an eyebrow. "It was your sister's idea?"

"It was. Ma'am," Kyle gulps. His eyes dart between them as he shifts nervously.

When Phillips doesn't answer, Jane takes this as her cue. She leans forwards, just slightly – not intruding in his personal space, but close enough to intimidate, to watch as he begins to sweat. She curls her lips into a half-smile, watching the flicker of confusion that crosses his eyes.

"Why don't you tell us how you did it, Mr Matthews?"

"Chloroform. I got – I got some from a friend when Melissa told me what she wanted to do. I seen my dad do it plenty of times. Put it on a rag – "

"I understand how chloroform works, Mr Matthews," Jane interrupts. "Did you break into Doctor Isles's home in order to drug her?"

"N – No ma'am. Melissa knocked – she's got this way about her, you know, makes you always wanna help her. Asked the doc to help her with her car, claimed she'd broken down."

"And when she stepped out – "

"I grabbed her and put the rag over her mouth. She struggled a little but it made her weak real quickly," Kyle finishes.

Jane takes a moment to breathe, settling back in her chair. Shit. She's got to get through this. It's just – imagining this – hearing it fall so eagerly from the man's mouth, it fucking hurts. Maura wouldn't hurt a soul. Why are people always hurting her?

"How did you move her to Connecticut, Mr Matthews?"

"I got my place out there. Told Melissa she could use that – she'd already set it all up a coupla weeks before. Got a ride from a friend cos I don't register cars, y'know. The doc was small, so she fit in the trunk alright. Didn't wake till we got her back in the basement."

"And from then on?"

"Oh, well, agent – I wasn't so involved in that. Like I told ya, it was all Melissa's thing. Even dad didn't really know about it. She just used my place. Hey – you guys are cleaning out three hand's place, right?"

Jane leans forwards again. "Yeah. Why?"

"Oh, I got – in my backpacks. I took all the DVDs. You know, Melissa monitored the doc? I took all of them cos I thought, you know, evidence. But when I watched them back – shit, man. My sister's not right," he tugs on his cuffed hands uncomfortably. "In the head, you know? I didn't know she treated the doc like that."

Phillips pulls the file in front of her open and Jane bites back a curse at the photos she reveals hidden inside. She lays them out in front of Kyle, who looks away, while Jane feels bile rise in her throat as she memorises them all. Maura. They're all Maura, in her hospital bed. Maura, and her scars, and bruises, and all of her trauma. Maura – a victim.

"You were unaware of the physical violence Melissa inflicted on Doctor Isles?"

"Would you – would you put those away?" Kyle's voice wavers as his eyes flick back to the photos.

"You were unaware of the physical and mental abuse your sister inflicted upon her abductee?"

"Jeez, I – I guess I knew, okay? I didn't – shit, I wasn't really there. It was all Melissa, y'know? I knew it happened but I didn't see it. I wasn't part of it."

Happy with his confession, Phillips puts the photos away again. Jane isn't sad to see them go, and she curls her hands around her knees, gripping desperately. Two hundred and ninety two days. Maura has endured two hundred and ninety two days of physical and mental torture. This won't fix it, will it? She's told herself catching Kyle and Melissa would fix it, bring them both closure, a thousand times over. But it won't undo the damage.

"Look, is the doc okay? She alive?"

Phillips nods. "Melissa didn't kill her."

"She's a good woman, y'know? I'd… I'd bring her things. I ain't into what my sister did – I was just lookin' out of my family. But the doc was real nice. Always real grateful when I brought her things. She even – I'd gotten myself into a knife fight a coupla days before I visited her once, and she offered to patch me up."

Kyle lifts the hem of his shirt up, revealing a bright red scar along the bottom curve of his ribs. "I didn't ask or nothin'. She just offered. She's real nice."

Jane tugs her hands through her curls, a little roughly, so that her scalp stings. Shit. That's so – so Maura. Helping the people who are pulling her apart.

"That will be all for now, Mr Matthews," Phillips says quietly, and Jane is out of the room in a flash.

That evening, as she sits at her desk, pouring over the same information she's been staring at for three days straight, her mother appears by her side.

"Ma?"

Angela grabs a chair from one of the vacant desks, pulling it up against her daughter's. Jane twists away from the computer at the sombre look on her mother's face, not bothering to protest when Angela grabs both of her hands and pulls them into her grip. This reads as serious.

"I went to see Maura again today," Angela tells her slowly. "And Maura… she asked me if I wanted to move back into the guesthouse. You know, so things can be how they used to be."

Jane's throat constricts. Oh. Maura is getting her life back – fighting for it, despite the obstacles she has faced. She's just… fighting for a life that doesn't include her.

She'd thought –

No. She'd been stupid to think that things would be any other way than how they are. Maura, distant and confused. Her, here, lost and hurting.

"What did you say?"

"I told her I'd like to. I know it's a struggle for you and Frankie to pay my rent, Jane, and living in her guest house was always – "

"You don't have to make excuses, Ma," Jane interjects, squeezing her hands. "If Maura wants you there, then you should move back in."

In the hallway, Phillips passes, raising her eyebrows. Jane turns her head away from the agent. There's something about her – those odd moments of softness – that tug at her. She doesn't like that. This woman has come along at a time when her life has turned even more awry than she could ever imagine. She shouldn't look at her with those eyes that – that remind her of something.

"How's Maura?"

Angela brightens. "Oh, Jane, she's doing so much better. It's my lasagne, I'm telling you. Maura doesn't really eat much, but she's put a lot of weight back on – she's looking healthier, and those awful bruises she had are all gone."

Jane settles into her seat, smiling, and listens to stories about a woman emerging from her cocoon.

TBC