Chapter Two

"Jane?"

She started to hear sounds. She thought maybe it was her name. But she wasn't sure. It wasn't clear. It sounded like it came from a tunnel. But she hadn't been in a tunnel. Or had she? No. Not a tunnel. A basement. A basement belonging to a murder suspect. Hoyt. She needed to wake up.

"Jane? Can you hear me?"

She heard that. It was clearer. That was the voice of her partner. She relaxed a bit knowing that if she was hearing Korsak's voice in her head she couldn't be in immediate danger. She felt herself start to come around. Slowly things started to come to her. Sounds. Smells. She felt her eyes starting to flutter open. And then she felt it. The pain from her head. Both the back of her head and right above her left eye.

"Owwww!" she groaned as her eyes finally opened and stayed open. Her hand instinctively reached up to touch the pain site above her eye.

She heard a chuckle. "Don't move your head too much Jane. It's only going to make it hurt more," Korsak said. He was standing over his partner who was laying on a gurney that had been carried out of the house and towards the waiting ambulance.

Jane looked up at him blinking a few times trying to shake the haze off. She took in the scene in front of her. Korsak was standing over her as was an EMT. She could hear commotion all around her and she saw officers, EMTs and CSRU techs moving about. She was outside but she wasn't completely sure how she got there or how long she was out.

"Did we find her in time?" she asked. She vaguely remembered heading down into the basement looking for Cordell.

"Yeah Jane. We found her in time. Hoyt's in custody," he answered. He wasn't surprised she asked about Cordell before asking about herself.

"How long?" she asked.

Korsak knew she was asking how long she was out. "About twenty minutes," he answered. He knew her well enough to know she wasn't going to be happy about that much time.

"Twenty minutes?" she almost whined. She couldn't believe she let someone get such a jump on her that she was out for twenty minutes. If she had been alone she fully understood that she probably would be dead right now. She let a flash of that understanding sink in but then immediately dismissed it refusing to let herself think about what could have happened.

Jane suddenly realized she was lying down on a gurney and immediately found that unacceptable. She tried to sit up and about halfway up she realized that was a big mistake. Dizziness and nausea overtook her and she slank back down onto the gurney to try to center herself. "Ohhh," she released a muffled cry not wanting to call attention to herself.

"Stay still Jane," chastised Korsak. "You took a shot to both the back and front of your head. You probably have a concussion so quick movements are not a good idea right now."

Jane let the wave of nausea pass and she sat up again. This time she moved slower and that seemed to help. She refused to be seen as weak. There was no way she was going to stay on a gurney at a crime scene. She swung her legs around so her feet were now off the gurney and on the ground. She was going to stand up and get off the gurney. She just needed to get her bearings straight first.

"Detective, you should listen to your partner. You really should lay back down and let us take you to the hospital," the young EMT tried to coax the detective back down on the gurney. He looked to Korsak for some help. Vince just shook his head. He didn't have much say when Jane got like this.

Although she knew it was probably going to make her headache worse she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the hospital statement anyway. Jane didn't do hospitals. Korsak caught her eye roll and had to try not to snicker. He already knew the only way Jane was going to the hospital would have been if she was still unconscious.

"At least move slowly Jane until you get your bearings," Korsak stated knowing that was the only advice she was going to take.

The EMT finished placing a bandage on the cut that was above Jane's left eye. "You may need stitches and your partner is right. You may have a concussion and you should get checked out at the hospital."

"I'm fine," Jane said. "I'll sign the release." She had a monster headache but the dizziness was subsiding. She accepted the ice pack from the EMT and gently pushed it up against the back of her head. That helped a little. Turning her attention to Korsak she spoke. "Hoyt?"

"He's in custody. On his way to the hospital at the moment. I got him in the shoulder before he could hit you again. He'll recover." Korsak was quiet for a minute. "I'm sorry Jane. I should have gotten to the basement faster."

"Hey," she said immediately. "You dropped him. I'm fine. That's all that matters." She had been conscious long enough to know it was Korsak who shot Hoyt. She tried to convey how she felt with a look. They had been partners for a long time and they had each other's back. They each trusted each other implicitly and there was no way Jane was going to let him think he failed to protect her.

Korsak cleared his throat and dropped his eyes. He felt bad that Jane had gotten hit in the first place but he was reassured by how quickly Jane dismissed his concerns. He knew she could take care of herself. She was tough but she was still his partner and he would always feel responsible for her.

Jane let the moment linger between the two of them for a few more seconds before shifting the conversation. "And Cordell?"

"Injured but alive thanks to you," Korsak confirmed.

"It was all of us," Jane stated as she looked over at Crowe, Baxter and Hunt. They all had entered that house. They all had spent time trying to track down Cordell and find the Surgeon.

"Jane, you were the one who figured out the possibility of the print on that coffee table. That was huge. Jackson said he wouldn't have run those prints for at least another day if you hadn't asked. Cordell would have run out of time. That was a hell of a catch." He didn't hide the pride in his tone. He had known from the start of their partnership that Jane was an excellent detective. She was just a natural at the 'detecting' part of the job.

Jane held out her hand and Korsak reluctantly helped her to stand up. Part of him wanted to argue and try to force her to stay seated but he knew her well enough to know the argument would fall on deaf ears. She stood up and let another wave of dizziness pass through her. But it wasn't as severe as the last one so she stayed standing.

"Alright, you're up on your feet. Everyone sees how tough you are. Now, I'm going to drive you home," Korsak said. His tone was strong and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"I'm..." Jane started but was cut off.

"You're fine. I know. But it's Cavanaugh's orders. He figured you'd refuse to go to the hospital so I've been charged with at least getting you home. You've earned the rest of the day off. No arguments. We will wrap things up here. There's nothing more right now than supervising the CSRU teams anyway."

Jane went to argue but stopped. Her work was really done for the day. And she did have a bad headache. She looked around one last time and gave in. "Alright, you can drive me home."

Korsak silently thanked the gods for not making him have to forcibly remove Jane from the crime scene, something he has had to do in the past, and they made their way to his car.

R&I

Jane was quiet in the car and tried to rest. She felt okay minus the headache but had to admit the quiet in the car was better than the noise and chaos of the crime scene. She didn't realize where they were going until Korsak pulled up to the house. She turned to look at him. "No!" she said with conviction.

"Yes," he answered without looking over at her. He parked the car and turned off the engine.

"You said you were taking me home," she said not hiding her irritation.

"You are home," he pointed out.

"Home is my apartment. Home is not here," she said staring at him.

"For tonight, home is here. Sorry Jane. But you and I both know you have at least a mild concussion. You lost consciousness for crying out loud. You can refuse the hospital all you want but someone needs to keep an eye on you tonight. It's here or the hospital. The choice is yours," he answered. He wasn't unsympathetic but he knew this was Jane's only option.

Jane sat in the car without moving. Silence filled the car. "Well?" he finally asked.

"I'm thinking," she pouted. If looks could kill Vince would have been in serious trouble.

Korsak couldn't help but chuckle. "Come on. It won't be that bad. It's just one night."

"I'm sorry have you not met my mother?" she asked with deep sarcasm. "Don't you have a couch or something I can sleep on?" She was now pleading with her partner.

Korsak chuckled. "Sorry. It's this or the hospital. She's not that bad Jane. She loves you."

As if on cue the front door to the home opened and Angela Rizzoli stepped out to greet her visitors. "Janie, why are you still sitting in the car? Come inside. I have your room all ready for you."

Jane gave a look to Korsak that he knew meant he would definitely pay a high price for this at a later time. "She knows?" was all Jane could get out.

"I called to ask if they would be home to keep an eye on you," he answered trying to defend his actions. "Come on Jane. Someone has to wake you up periodically throughout the night and you know it."

Jane got out of the car and started to walk towards the house. "You realize there will be hell to pay for this," she said giving Korsak one last evil look before reaching the front door. "Hey Ma," Jane greeted.

Angela held the door open for both Jane and Vince. As Jane approached Angela got a good look at Jane's face and saw the swollen and bruised cut above her eye. "Oh Janie, that must hurt." She went to try to put her hands on Jane but Jane ducked out of her mother's reach.

"I'm fine Ma. It's just a bump on the head," Jane tried to dismiss her mother's concerns.

"Angela, it's two bumps on the head. Your daughter has a matching lump on the back of her head too," Korsak wasn't about to leave without Angela understanding what she needed to do for Jane's well being. Jane could just kill him later. "She has a concussion. You will need to make sure she doesn't really sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time tonight."

"Her father and I will look after her," Angela agreed. Angela hadn't taken her eyes off her daughter even though she had been talking with Korsak.

"Guys, I'm standing right here," Jane announced with irritation. She hated it when people talked around her. Almost as much as she hated it when people made a fuss over her. She fully entered the house and went into the living room. Frank was there watching TV and she let herself smile for the first time since pulling up to the house. She went and sat down next to him on the couch. "Hey Pop," she said as she sat down. She allowed herself to snuggle into her father.

Jane hated attention. She hated people making a big deal over her. It drove her absolutely crazy if her mother tried to hover over her. But if she was going to allow anyone to comfort her it was her father. She always seemed to let her guard down with Frank.

Frank draped his arm over Jane's shoulder. He had been worried about her ever since Vince had called and let them know she was hurt. But he knew she wouldn't let him make too many comments about what had happened. He could ask but he would be limited to how often he could ask. "Your face looks bad," he said looking at the cut above her eye. "You ok?"

"I will be just fine," she said and settled herself into his side so they could start watching the baseball game together. "What's the score?" They were done talking about her for the night.

Vince watched the father/daughter interaction for a moment and then made his way with Angela into the kitchen. He caught Angela looking towards the living room with a worried expression. "She's really ok," he said trying to reassure the worried mother. "I just didn't want her to be alone tonight with the concussion possibility."

"You did the right thing by bringing her here," Angela acknowledge. "The woman is too stubborn to have come here on her own. So, you guys caught the guy?"

"Yeah. We were in time to save the lady and we should be able to build the case against him for the other murders now that he is in custody."

"Good. I've been worried. Jane said this has been a difficult case for all of you," she said as she handed Vince a cup of coffee.

"It's been a challenge. But Jane seems to have cracked it wide open today," he said as he too looked into the living room at his injured partner. "She figured it out just in time." There was no mistaking the pride in his tone.

"So what now?" Angela asked.

"The DA will need to piece together a case for all five murders. We have Hoyt cold on Cordell's kidnapping, rape and assault but we'll have to work to tie the other cases together."

"If he got caught with that lady today shouldn't everything else take care of itself?" Angela asked.

"You would think. But there isn't a lot of physical evidence for the five murders. We have a new Chief ME starting in two days and everyone is hoping she will be able to re-examine all of the evidence and find something that may have been overlooked." Korsak wasn't a fan of Dr. Pike who had been substituting as temporary chief ME until the permanent replacement could get moved to Boston.

"Jane mentioned a new ME was hired. Some woman from California," Angela stated. "I think she's a little excited not to be the only female prowling around the station."

Korsak smiled. The station really was a boy's club. Jane had always handled it well and the guys had long since accepted Jane and respected her but he too thought she was a little excited that the new ME was a woman. "We've heard good things about Dr. Isles. She came highly recommended and she's supposed to be a certified genius which is definitely a step up from Pike."

"Sounds intriguing. I wonder why she agreed to move to Boston." Angela looked at Vince who just shrugged his shoulders. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No thank you," he answered. "I've got a few reports to finish from today. I just wanted to get Jane here. I should get going but please make sure you don't let her sleep too long tonight." He was worried about the concussion but knew Angela would look out for her.

Vince headed into the living room to say goodbye to Jane. "I'm heading. You get as much rest as you can tonight. Don't worry about coming in tomorrow if you wake up with that headache. We've got nothing but paperwork ahead of us for this case."

Jane nodded. "I'll see you in the morning." There was no mistaking her insistent tone.

Korsak shook his head as he walked out the front door. He had to have the most stubborn partner on the entire force.