"Doesn't this bring back memories hey Princess?"

As Maura struggled to keep her eyes open her vision twisted into a kaleidoscope. Images twisted and turned in front of her eyes and no matter how many times she tried to blink them away she couldn't. Paddy. Jane. Stood side by side. Both aiming guns at her. Sobs began wracking her body and her heart cried out in extreme pain.

"Maur...Maur? It's me, Maur, me Jane I'm not gonna hurt you baby. Maur please!" It was killing Jane to see Maura staring at her gun and sobbing her heart out. Put it down, you're scaring her. Her cop instinct was fighting against her heart's pleas. You can't, if you put it down she'll shoot you, or Maura or both. I have to protect her.

"Y-you hate me." Maura wasn't sure which of the two apparitions she was talking to. "You don't want me alive."

"Maur no. Come on, focus, it's me, it's Jane. I would never hurt you!"

Doyle was shaking his head at her but not saying anything and she felt her anger at him spear through her pain and upset. She met Jane's eyes with the fury she felt for Doyle. "You hate me because of him!" she pointed at Doyle "You want me dead because I'm just like him!"

Jane's heart was breaking to see Maura losing her mind like this, she could only imagine the horrors going through that beautiful mind. "No Maur, you're nothing like him. I swear to you Maur I will never ever hurt you."

Maura couldn't focus clearly the image was rippling like choppy waves. She closed her eyes and was enveloped by the deep darkness again.

Jane saw those beautiful hazel eyes roll back into Maura's head leaving nothing but white and she let every barrier down, she let loose, gave everything she could pleading with Maura not to give in. "Maura! Don't leave me! I love you Maur! I'll never hurt you as long as I live, please, please don't leave me!"

"I love you Maur!" Something deep within Maura reached out in hope to those words and whilst she could feel herself rushing toward the light she couldn't quite break through it but her babbling mind eased and her breathing returned to normal and she started to internally focus on each action of her body.

Jane could see the calm wash over Maura and whilst it wasn't enough, at least it was something for now. Jane took a deep breath and ground her teeth together. She raised her eyes aflame with fury and aimed them right into the fearful eyes of Maura's captor.

She gulped. The detective was getting her balls back and the medical examiner had stalled on the pathway to full blown crazy. Shit! Get it together, we had this! Get it back. She hid herself a little more behind Maura until she was satisfied the detective had no shot whatsoever. She moved her lips to find Maura's ear. "Take some more Princess, it'll make you feel better." She pressed the gun against her head again just in case she needed a little more encouragement.

The demon was back, clawing at her trying to drag her back down to the inky depths.

"Don't listen to her Maur, concentrate on my voice. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, don't take any more of that stuff."

The angel was reaching through the light trying to pull her back out but Maura just couldn't quite reach.

She swung the gun back to point at the detective and whispered into Maura's ear again. "Take some more Princess or I will shoot Jane."

A white hot electric spark shot through the middle of Maura's heart at the thought of Jane being shot and it propelled her back to that day outside the precinct. She was running out of the doors again just to see Jane collapsing to the floor with Bobby Marino lying underneath her, blood pooling out onto the sidewalk. Maura kneeled in the puddle pressing her hands tight to Jane's wound praying to a deity she didn't believe in to save her friend. "No! Stay with me Jane! Don't leave me! F-Frankie's gonna be ok."

The words took Jane back to the same moment as she lay fading beneath Maura's hands. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched Maura relive that moment again. "No Maur! I'm right here, I'm ok! You saved me remember! I'm ok!"

"She won't be if you don't take some more."

The evil whisper in her ear shattered the glimmering hope the angel's voice had instilled in her. She felt the substance between her fingertips before she could fully register what she was doing.

"NO!"

The scream paused Maura's actions and the light briefly washed a little closer like the tide to the shore.

"I'll shoot her before she can pull the trigger Maur, don't do it!"

The bitter laugh echoed around on the chilled wind "We both know you don't have a shot detective...and you're not gonna shoot through the woman you love just to get to me."

Jane wanted nothing more than to wipe that triumphant smile on her face with a bullet but sadly Jane knew she was right; there was no way she had a clean shot, and even less chance she would ever put a bullet inside Maura even if it wasn't fatal. Shooting myself to save Frankie and Maura was easy...but this...I can't shoot Maura. As the horrific images plagued her brains she noticed that Maura was doing something very odd, luckily her captor was so hidden behind her that she couldn't see.

Maura felt like her limbs had pins and needles and yet she was standing strong still, it was a very strange feeling almost like she had foam hands that she could move but not feel fully. She couldn't concentrate on the noises she could hear clearly but as she closed her eyes she began mapping out a journey on her body. Clavicle. Scapula. Rectus femoris. External oblique.

Genius. Jane had to hide her smile so as not to alert Maura's captor. She's telling me all the places I could shoot her without killing her but disabling her captor. Jane felt her insides sink as the internal battle within herself commenced; I cannot shoot her. No matter whether it kills her or not I cannot put a bullet through Maura. But if I don't she's either gonna die from that stuff or she'll get shot in the head, no way she can recover from that. But it's Maura. I can't pull the trigger at Maura.

Hot heavy tears escaped from the detective's eyes and she realised that she was considering shooting through the ME to get to her. She's stronger than I gave her credit for. She had to up her game again "Take some more Princess, or I will shoot her now. She will never shoot you, she's too weak. Its either you or her Princess, who do you wanna save?"

"Don't do it Maur, you don't have to do this. Do not sacrifice yourself." Jane's heart was torn in two by the weight of her indecision and the weary look on Maura's face.

Maura could feel herself floating back down away from the light and didn't have the strength to hang on anymore. She wasn't even aware that she had her fingers in her mouth already, she couldn't feel the burning, the aching, she was simply drifting away into the claustrophobic darkness.

Jane let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried to furiously blink away her stinging tears as she tried to steady her gun at Maura's captor. Her hands were shaking from the overwhelming emotion and she couldn't guarantee the accuracy of her shot. I've failed her.

The loud click that shot down her eardrum burst Maura out of her abyss and she opened her eyes to see the gun by her ear being levelled at Jane who was crying so much her aim was all over the place. Maura managed to shake her head and though her tongue was thick and dry she managed to slur out the words "Y-you...said...if...I...she...safe."

"What can I say? I'm my father's daughter."

Jane's tear streaked distraught face and her captor's cruel laugh was the last thing Maura saw and heard before she gave in completely to the darkness. The birds she heard earlier scattered into the air as a loud gunshot echoed in the dark icy cold air that matched the gloomy place that had encased Maura and claimed her as its own.