Stop.

The cool breeze was soft against the honey blonde's cheek as she felt herself awake from her subconscious. Her body could physically feel the dramatic drop in temperature from the shivers that her body was experiencing. She had not yet opened her eyes and had every intention to fall back asleep until she felt movement not of her own.

No.

This caused her to quickly open her eyes as she heard this voice. Then she remembered where she was and who she was with. Jane. She thought as she turned to face to the other woman but what she saw stopped her suddenly. She was in a throw of a nightmare. The other woman seemed to be struggling against an invisible opponent as her hands were pinned above on either side of her head on the ground as the rest of her body was resisting the unknown force. Her head was thrashing wildly and her breath was short and exerted.

"NO stop please! Leave them alone!" The deep voice screamed full of fear.

This finally seemed to bring the younger woman out of her stupor as she approached her friend. "Jane? Jane wake up it's only a nightmare." She tried to convince her unconscious friend but it did not work as her friend appeared to be even more aggravated and desperate. Maura then decided to try to wake her up. She tried to lift her hands in order to free her but a howl of pain escaped her lips that had Maura stop what she was doing immediately, unsure of what to do. "Jane please wake up!" she said as she put her hands on her cheek caressing it softly. Before she knew it she was on her back with her hands pinned above her head with one of Jane's hands and the other hand wrapped around her throat that was being squeezed tightly. Maura was temporarily unresponsive as the woman she had grown to trust and truly care for had her in a vise grip. The younger woman looked at Jane and saw clouded dark brown eyes that were unrecognizable. This instilled even more fear into the honey blonde than there was before.

"Don't touch me you bastard!" she growled as her focus was not on Maura.

"Jaaa…Jane. It's meee. Maura." She tried to say as she was struggling to obtain much need oxygen. "It's me….your…. friend. Please Jane…" she spoke in a broken, frightful tone.

The older woman did not seem to recognize the woman below her but enclosed her fist. Maura was starting to lose consciousness and she desperate to get out of this or Jane would surely kill her. She used her left leg and used as much of her strength to hit the other woman. She hit the crazed woman's inner thigh. It physically did not seem to do much and Maura had lost all hope. But it must have shaken her out of her state as older woman released her titanium grip from Maura. Maura gasped for breath as her body shook. The body above her was removed as the familiar eyes that belonged to Jane Rizzoli resurfaced. The look of confusion appeared upon the older girl which then quickly turned to complete panic. Mouth agape and tears threatening to spill the dark haired woman lifted her offending hand as she realized what she had done.

"Maur…..Oh my God….I" She tried but did not know what to say. Maura was looking at the broken woman before and instead of making her way toward her she followed her instinct and ran. She made it to Colt as he was standing in with the moonlight hitting his dark features. She was not thinking but letting her body control her as she mounted the horse and road back to the safety of the village. When she finally reached the village she took a deep breath but felt pain from her injured neck that brought back the recent events she was trying to forget. Finally the numbness started to subside and a sob broke through as her body and mind just broke down unable to figure out what to do.

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It had been a week from that fateful night that Maura found herself waking up. That night or early morning she returned, Korsak and Melanie were woken up by her entrance and were quite surprised by her coming home. They had become accustomed to her staying late with Jane then staying over at her house. Vince trusted Jane more than anyone to keep the young princess safe so when they found her returning home in such a state he knew something awful had gone on.

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"Highness is everything alright?" the gruff voice spoke to the young woman.

Maura looked at both concerned adults but was unable to answer them.

"Oh Maura dear what happened to her neck?!" Melanie's shrill voice said in a panic. Maura then placed her hand on her throat as she realized Jane must have left some of the strangulation marks evident upon her neck. Jane almost strangled me.

"You were with Jane right? Did she…?" Korsak's voice suddenly spoke. Maura was confused by this man's accurate guess. Is this common? Maura shook her head in response that had Korsak close his eyes and release a shaky breath. "Where is she? What happened?"

Maura finally found her voice. "At the top of the highest peak. We were star gazing and we fell asleep and I woke up to….." she tried but could not finish her thought.

Vince seemed to get the gist of it as he nodded his head. "Is she awake? Is she okay?"

Maura nodded to both. "She….gained consciousness and I left…..I just couldn't…."

"Maura it's ok. You did nothing wrong." The sweet voice of the older woman spoke.

"Melanie's right Maura. There's nothing you could've done."

"Oh Vince…." The redhead's voice spoke sadly to her husband. "You must go find her before something happens to her."

Korsak rose up and began to pick up his coat. "I know. I'm more afraid of what she'll do to herself. She'll be tearing herself up for what she's done." He spoke. He then approached the younger woman and touched her shoulder. "I know that you may not want to see Jane but you have to know Maura. She would never intentionally hurt you; she cares for you too much. Just take some time but don't be too hard on her. She'll be hard enough on herself."

Maura was unsure of what to do or say. She still cared for Jane but after tonight did not wish to be around her, at least for now.

"Ok. Let's try to get Maura some rest." She said as she placed her hands on Maura's shoulders. "Be careful and find her Vince."

"I will Mel. I'll be back as soon as I can." He said quickly as he made his way out the door.

"Come on Maura. Time for bed." Melanie said as she led the young woman into her room. The red head helped change her and do the nightly routine before bed. Maura found no issue with this as her mind was in another world. How? How did such a wonderful night turn into a horrible nightmare? Maura was unsure of what to think. She knew Jane cared about her and she saved her life numerous amounts of times but could one big incident change all that? Was tonight's event worth all the time and effort that was put into their friendship? Before she knew it Melanie had finished with Maura as she led her to her bed. "Alright sweetie all done. Now try to get some sleep." She spoke softly as she placed a large quilt over the small woman.

Maura slightly smiled at the other woman as she muttered. "Thanks."

"No problem sweetie" she spoke with a smile too. "You know Vince is right. Jane really cares about you. She would never mean to hurt you." This created a pain at the pit of her stomach. She was unsure of what to say and what to think and the red head saw this. "But for now I think it's best if you have some time away from her. Figure everything out." Maura nodded her head in agreement and was relieved Melanie seemed to understand. "Ok dear but just try to not be upset with her forever. It would be such a shame to lose a friend like her am I right?" she asked looking at Maura expectantly. Maura again nodded her head. "I thought so. Don't worry about anything tonight. Just get some rest. Good night Maura." She said and kissed her forehead then left the room.

Maura appreciated what Melanie was trying to do and felt a new fondness for the other woman. She barely knew her and she treated her so kindly and was extremely generous. Although with this an abundant of questions flooded the back of her mind that were uncontrollable. Why didn't Vince or Melanie seem surprised by Jane's actions tonight? Was this a normal occurrence? Did Jane constantly have these violent nightmares? Oh poor Jane. Before she could realize her eyes were frequently shutting as sleep was starting to overtake her though she was afraid of what she would find the next time she would awake.

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The clattering of footsteps could be easily heard from anywhere in the house. Voices were escalating with panic imbedded within one in particular. Maura woke up to the commotion occurring outside her room. She heard the voices as they seemed to argue with each other. No only one voice that seemed hysterical. Maura's curiosity overtook her as she rose from her bed and made her way out of the room. But before she could she was caught in the mirror that prior, Maura seemed to miss. She looked closely at her reflection. Her hair that was usually fit for perfection was unruly from her sleep. Her eyes still had its green but seemed darker from the dark circles that lingered underneath. The most noticeable change was the red marks across her neck that if looked at closely she could see the visible finger prints that were imbedded into her skin leaving a constant reminder of the incident she wished to forget. Before she could get too lost in her reflection the familiar voices erupted again that caught Maura's attention. Maura then followed the voices into the front room but decided it was best to remain hidden in the hall.

"Vince please just let me in. I need to see her…." The deep voice of Jane Rizzoli filled the room. Maura was unsure if she was relived the other woman was safe or frightened that she was only a few feet away from her.

"Jane I can't do that. You scared her quite a bit." Vince's voice laced with exhaustion and sympathy as told the other woman.

"I know! I know I probably scared the life out of her but I didn't mean to!" she tried to explain. "I haven't had the dreams in such a long time, I thought they were finally gone…."

"We know Jane" Melanie's soft voice spoke to her. "But sweetie she's a bit shaken up. She needs sometime though. After everything that happened….."

"But she needs to know I didn't mean it!" Rizzoli pleaded. "Korsak you know I would never want to hurt her. She's my best friend….and I…..oh God I almost killed her…." She cried out as she placed her hands on her face.

"Jane. Jane look at me!" Vince boomed as he grabbed her roughly by her shoulders. "I know you would never hurt someone innocent. I see how much Maura means to you and you would do anything to protect her. You have been through hell and back this year and that does not make you a horrible person. You just need to give her time and maybe explain what happened…."

"No! Then she'll want nothing to do with me! I can't…."

"Ok well then you need to give her some time then. She is scared and confused. Just let her be for a little and I'm sure she'll want you back as her friend."

"Maybe it's best if she doesn't. I won't be able to hurt her anymore" she said in a broken tone. "Just take care of her please."

"Oh honey she'll be safe I promise. She loves you Jane. You're her closest friend and she'll want you back as her friend just give her some time." The red head tried to convince the dark haired woman.

Jane shook her head violently. "For her sake she won't." she said in defeat as she back away and walked out.

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Maura found herself mechanically eating breakfast. This was her first full meal in several days and both Melanie and Korsak were relieved. The past few days they had been trying to get the girl to eat but were unsuccessful. For the past week Maura had stayed indoors and had not ventured outside in fear of encountering Jane. Though Jane had not tried to pursue her, leaving Maura relieved the other girl was giving her some space. One day though Jane had left an unexpected item behind after the next morning after the event. Bass. While in her hurry, Maura did not grabbed Bass when she was trying to flee from Jane. Maura was automatically relieved that her tortoise was kept safe as she felt gratitude toward the lanky woman but she was not yet ready to face her. She was unsure of what to do or what to say. So instead she followed Melanie's advice and took some time to think for herself. As the days went by, Maura would be lying if she said she didn't miss the lanky brunette. Now instead of seeing the brunette every day she had gone a week, cold turkey. Maura had to adjust to this new change as she was still afraid to be around Jane. Though every day Maura felt a little more guilty for how she acted. Sure what Jane did was frightening and was understandable for Maura's hesitation but she knew that she did not mean to hurt her. From what Maura found out, these nightmares were a common occurrence for Jane. Something to do with her past that continues to haunt her to this day. Maura could not help but feel bad for her former friend. She must have gone through some traumatic event for her to have reacted that way. Maura knew that it was not Jane's natural reaction to be violent. Only when she or others she cared for are in danger. This thought made the pain in the pit in the honey blonde's stomach increase as her guilt rose. Maybe I should have just talked to her instead of running away and abandoning her? These thoughts filled the woman's head but she was still unsure of what to do. She knew she didn't want this rift within their friendship to continue but was not sure of how to end it or if she could go back to fully trusting the archer after seeing the darker side of her. Maura finally concluded she wanted to take her tortoise outside for some air and try to clear her distorted mind.

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"Bass come on eat. You haven't eaten all day today or yesterday." The honey blonde spoke to her tortoise as he ignored her and the small leaf in her hand. Bass the tortoise seemed to pick up on his owner and her anxiety for the past few days. He too refused to eat that had begun to worry Maura. I think his stress levels are not normal because it may explain his lack of an appetite. "Oh Bass what do you have to be stressed about?" she asked him full of concern. The reptile just looked up at her with his beady eyes that board into her soul. Somehow he understood what was happening with his master and was reflecting her behavior. "Oh Bass what do I do?" she said as she place her head on top of her knees. Then she heard the incoming noises of boots stepping on sticks that were breaking under their feet. They were talking amongst themselves as the Princess recognized the voices. She suddenly lifted her head to see if her eyes agreed with her ears. As she thought, the loud noises were from Casey and Frost who were standing side by side talking to each other. Then a lump of unruly curls captured Maura's eye that gave her an instant recognition. She saw the dark haired woman and was frightened not by her close proximity but by her appearance. Jane's face seemed to be sullen, expressing her unhappiness, along with dark bags under her eyes. Her usual straight posture was slightly hunched over as she looked down at the ground. The once vibrant, confident Jane had turned into a depressed guilt ridden girl that just broke Maura's heart. She did not want her friend to be in so much pain no matter what she had done to her. As if Jane could feel the other woman's eyes she looked up. It was easy to say Jane was surprised on seeing Maura as shock and confusion was evident on her face. The expression quickly changed when Jane lowered her eyes to her neck as remorse and anguish over took the woman's features. Unable to take the other woman's gaze the dark haired woman turned around and stalked away in quick haste. Maura realized what she had unintentionally done to her friend and knew what she needed to do.

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She made her way up the familiar road as she stomped the terrain on a mission. She was not surprised to hear grunts and heavy breathing as she reached the clearing.

"Come on Frost is that all you got?!" the dark voice of Rizzoli growled out toward her friend. Frost who had a defensive stance tilted his head slightly toward the woman. "Rizzoli you sure you ok? Maybe we should take a break?"

"No breaks for the wicked Frost!" she shouted as she sped toward Frost and raised her fist trying to strike him. Frost blocked this attack using both his forearms. He then pushed her back and tried knock her over with his feet. Jane jumped in midair to avoid this move and used her elbow to hit Frost on the side of the face. Frost was taken aback from this unfriendly attack and it made him release an angry breath.

"Dammit Jane if you wanna play dirty than you better watch yourself!" he yelled as he stalked toward her. Throwing a punch which she ducked and punched his gut. This infuriated him even more as he growled at her. She threw a punch but was caught by the young man's arm and hit her gut with his other hand. This slightly knocked some breath from her but she didn't give up. She tried to punch again but Frost ducked, grabbed her arms to pick her up and threw her over his shoulder and onto the hard ground.

"Dammit Frost let go of me!" she yelled tried to release herself from his grip. Frost held unto her until he saw the hazel eyed beauty from afar. He nodded his head at her as he silently gave her permission to approach. Jane did not notice her presence until she was a few feet away as her eyes grew bigger. She lay frozen at the spot.

"Good afternoon Princess what can I do for you?" Frost asked politely.

Maura gave him a slight smile. "Hello Barry. Actually I was wondering if I could have a word with Jane."

"Sorry Jane's busy right now." The dark haired woman responded as she tried to avoid Maura's gaze.

"Oh no don't worry Jane were done here" Frost said quickly dropping her arm from his tight hold. "She's all yours." He said quickly as he made his leave.

Finally Jane regained feeling back in her arm as she sat up. "Frost you damn traitor!"

Maura shook her head from Jane's immature response. "Jane can we talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about Princess. You should go." The older woman said trying to walk away.

Maura grabbed her arm as Jane yelped in pain. "Oh God Jane I'm sorry! Here let me look at it."

"It's fine. It's what I deserve. Just let it go Maura." She said as she yanked her arm away from the honey blonde and proceeded to walk away.

"Jane Rizzoli if you ever cared about me stop right there!" she screamed which stopped Jane in her tracks. Unsure if another action from Jane would occur she began to speak. "Jane I know what happened that night was an accident. You didn't mean to, you were experiencing a nightmare and I don't blame you!"

Jane was unresponsive and Maura felt she was losing the fight. "Please Jane give us a chance. Don't throw our friendship away over this."

Jane turned around and quickly walked up to the other woman. "How? How could you not blame me Maura? Look what I did to you?! I could have killed you!" she yelled at her while pointing at the marks on her neck. "You're better off without me. I can't keep you safe if I can't even trust myself. I've seen things you can't imagine Maura, it has made me into a monster. I'm sorry I ever let you near me." Her brown eyes were stripped bare and filled with pain.

Maura placed her hand on her face as she tried to focus the other woman on her but failed. "Jane. I don't blame you because you would never mean to hurt me. You are a good person and the most brave, honest and protective person I have ever met." She tried to use her words to convey her sincerity. She grabbed Jane by her chin and forced brown orbs to find her hazel ones. "I know you had to have gone through something terrible to experiencing those awful nightmares. I want to help you. I still want to be your friend after all of that because I love you Jane. You are the best friend I have ever had and I will never give it up on you."

Jane moved her eyes not looking at her friend but it was easy to see the tears threatening to fall. Maura saw this and took pity upon her friend who was suffering. She caressed her thumb against her cheek bone. "Well when you decide you don't want to give up on our friendship come find me at our place right before sunset." She said softly as she took one last look at her defeated friend, turned around, and left unsure of the future that was to come.

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Three days. It had been three days from the day in the clearing with Jane that Maura had yet again found herself sitting at their place trying to find solace from the rushing river. She had Bass next to her who was currently eating his leafy greens which at least was a relief to the Princess. She was worried about Jane; she did not need to worry about her beloved pet as well. She had been petting his shell repetitively as she peered into the water as the setting sun was reflecting on it. This had been a familiar sight for Maura to see as she had been waiting for Jane to come to her but with no success. Maura was at odds with herself as of what to do. She went to Jane and told her when and where to find her when she was ready to go back to being friends. Day after day it both infuriated Maura and left her even more depressed. Maura understood why Jane was acting the way she was but she was the victim and she found it easier to forgive Jane than the girl was to forgive herself. She must really care for my safety. Or she truly believes she is some sort of monster. Either thought was not okay for Maura as she hoped and prayed Jane would give their friendship a chance. The sun had fully set as the younger girl released a sigh. "Well Bass it looks like it's time to go home." She said sadly as she picked him up, put him in his carrier, and turned around to leave. When Maura started to walk she noticed a familiar figure in the distance. No it can't be, the honey blonde said trying not to get her hopes up. But the closer she got it was confirmed it was none other than Jane Rizzoli who was leaning on a tree staring at the other woman. Maura approached her as her nerves became rattled. When she finally reached her and all the words she wished to say had suddenly disappeared. "Hi." Yes it was simple and almost stupid to say but that's all that came out.

"Hi" brown eyes met hazel as both were at a standstill. Jane had still adorned the same gloomy physical characteristics that Maura had seen prior but it had proved something had changed from Jane's presence. She looked down at her feet as she tugged at the metal chain around her neck. This was tell that Jane had when she was nervous that Maura had caught onto. Jane fingers rhythmically fidgeted with the long chain as Maura twirled her ring. This is something they had in common with one another.

"So how are you…" surprisingly the dark haired woman asked.

Maura shocked by her speaking first but complied. "I'm well. And you?"

"I've been better I assure you." She said quickly and then saw Maura's fallen face. "It's just…..it's just been a tough couple of days."

"I would imagine." She said nodding.

Jane looked up at the honey blonde with an injured look. She then stepped forward making her way to her. Maura was slightly nervous. Not from being unable to trust Jane, but afraid that her friend would change her mind and run away. She remained unmoving as she wished to be patient with Jane. Before either of them realized the older woman was about a foot away from her. Jane gulped loudly unsure of what to do. She then reached her hand and lightly touched Maura's neck with her fingers. Maura's neck had improved tremendously from that night but there was still blemish of yellow tarnished across her neck. Jane responded by closing her eyes and releasing a sharp breath that expressed her anguish and pain. Maura was moved by Jane obvious pain and suffering. She truly cares about me. She finally cups a side of her throat and caresses it smoothly trying to erase the damage that was there. Maura too closed her eyes unsure of what to do but so many emotions evading her.

"Maur…..I'm so sorry I…" the broken woman's voice cracked as she began to shiver in complete pain. Maura's eyes snapped open and saw the woman before her. She grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace as Jane place her face in the crook of Maura neck trying to hide from the world. "It will never happen again…I can't tell you how sorry I am….Please don't hate me Maur…..I know I'm so messed up but please…..please don't leave me…..not again…."

Oh my God what have I done? How much this girl went through and her best friend sees her at her worst and abandons her. A wave of guilt within her stomach appeared as she held on to Jane pulling her closer."Oh Jane. I'm so sorry I left you." She said with tears spilling down her face. "I will never leave you again. I promise Jane. I will never leave you."

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Omg chapter 19! I was so inspired from the last chapter including those beautiful reviews that I got that did this as soon as I could. SO this chapter is a bit of a downer no? I wanted to express Jane's pain and suffering that she had endured even if it is unknown to you readers. I promise you will eventually find out the truth behind that because that is very important and heavily ties into the story. Anyway I loved Jane being the one in need as Maura came in and saved the day. Just because I make Jane the physically stronger one in this fic doesn't mean that she is strong in every aspect. Jane is human like anyone else and has her times of vulnerability as well and I hope I was able to express that within this chapter. Alright enough of this as you wish to move on to other stories. So please continue to read and leave me feedback and thank you for your support and words of encouragement. They mean so much to me. Alright will try to work on the next chapter ASAP so until then it's goodbye for now! Bye guys!

~C.L. 3