Ten minutes later found the two women in a completely different situation. Jane was relaxed in Jane's tub, up to her chin in blissfully hot water and bubbles, and Maura was seated behind the detective, gently massaging her shoulders. It had only taken Maura a moment to convince Jane of the activity- Jane had quickly consented when Maura offered a massage. It was almost sinful how good it felt to have Maura kneading away the tense muscles from the day, accompanied with the comfort of the bath and Jane felt her unease from the nightmares begin to diminish. She closed her eyes and leaned her head, humming in appreciation.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Maura asked softly, working her way up to Jane's temples. Jane groaned softly and opened her eyes, "no." A moment later she countered her response, "yes." Maura chuckled and removed her hands, allowing Jane to sit up slightly. Maura dipped a hand in the warm water and absentmindedly trailed her fingers in circles through the bubbles.
"He was in my apartment again. In my dream, I mean. I never heard him- I just, I woke up and I could smell him. When I opened my eyes I was restrained with those plastic ties, and he was beside me, telling me how much he loved to torture me, how much he loved the…." Jane broke off and shivered, despite the warmth of the water. Maura's hand quickly found Jane's arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. "the way I looked when I was afraid. He loves terrifying me. And he's so damn good at it, Maura. Even in my dreams. I wake up terrified, and they won't go away. It takes forever for me to shake the feeling that he's waiting for me, that the moment I close my eyes he's going to be there."
Maura reached up and stroked Jane's cheek gently, gazing at the detective worriedly. "He's not, Jane. I know that you know that, but somewhere subconsciously, you're afraid of-" Maura trailed off, biting her lip. She didn't want to be presumptuous, considering she was not in fact a psychologist. "No, what?" Jane questioned, leaning her cheek into Maura's touch gratefully. "Well, I think… I think you're afraid of feeling powerless, Jane. He dominated you, tricked you, tortured you- but you won. But it's normal to be afraid to feel that way again, and I think your mind hasn't quite grasped the fact that he can no longer put you in that situation."
Jane was unconsciously gnawing away at her bottom lip, feeling the unease begin to creep back into her. Maura was probably right, and Jane hated it. She hated that she was still afraid, that Hoyt could still terrorize her despite the fact that he's dead.