DISCLAIMER: I do not own this show, the books, or these characters. I only borrow them.

A/N: Thanks so much for the review...I doubled my counts :D.

Chapter 6

Maura was relieved when Frank Rizzoli came back to the hospital later that night and talked to her about getting the room key as he and his wife could both use a good night's sleep. His back was still aching after sitting in hard chairs the last couple nights, and then today after squeezing under sinks and around pipes. He had already checked with the night nurse Margaret to see if she wouldn't mind looking the other way and letting Maura spend the night in the hospital even though she wasn't family. He knew he would never be able to talk Angie into leaving the room and sleeping a block away if no one was watching after the kids. Luckily Margaret agreed to add Maura on the list of approved after hours visitors as she knew the patients would be in the hospital for awhile, and already the parents looked drained.

Angela wearily debated with her husband about leaving her kids' bedsides, but a huge yawn and the grumbling of her stomach only added fuel to Frank's well spoken, and Maura assumed, well rehearsed speech that she would call them should anything happen, and that they could both use a healing rest like their children were currently getting.

So finally Maura was left on her own with her two best friends. She never did well in social settings, so now that it was just herself and the two sleeping patients she felt more comfortable talking to the pair. First she wandered over to Jane Rizzoli's bed and gazed down at the peaceful face. She thought of the pain it showed days earlier- emotional pain as she ranted for Maura to help her brother, and then later physical pain as the bullet tore through her body. It was nice to see her face relaxed and peaceful in sleep, but Maura was looking forward to the next day. The doctor took Jane off the medication that was keeping her in a medically induced coma late in the day, so they assumed she would wake up no later than noon the following day. "You are one of the strongest people I know, Jane. You'll pull through this...probably driving us all nuts while you recuperate." She chuckled knowing how true that statement would be. Jane would be itching to get back out in the field the minute she woke up. However the humor was short-lived as Maura just hoped that IA wouldn't stand in her way of getting back out there. But that was a battle to fight another day, First was to get both Jane and Frankie up and out of the hospital. Maura and the Rizzolis could handle anything after that. She leaned over the bed railing to place a light kiss on Jane's forehead, "Sleep well my friend."

She thought about finally having a true friend like Jane in her life, and she knew that she was very lucky. With that friendship, and through work, she was also able to meet her true love. She squeezed Jane's hand lightly before finally gliding over to her brother's bed. She pulled over a nearby chair and lowered the railing of the bed closest to her so she could more easily clutch at his hand. "So why are you being so stubborn? If you want to have a sleeping contest with your sister, you could at least make it a fair fight when she's not just asleep because of the medication." She hated that the only answer she got back was from the monitoring equipment. She liked being able to spend the night with Frankie, but this was not how she would prefer the night to play out. She thought back to a better time. The first night they spend together at her home.

~7 weeks ago~

Maura wanted to show Frankie more about who she was, and how she was raised. She was excited to be able to take him out to one of the fancier restaurants in Boston. She had already told him a bit about her previous marriage and how she always felt bad about spending any of her hard earned money as Dr. Victor Banks worked with charity organizations and so would tell her how many hungry orphans her pair of new shoes could feed, or a new well of clean water that could have been dug for the cost of her outfit and a night out on the town. She liked the various charity organizations that she did help, but she also liked to be able to treat herself now and then. And Friday night was not just about having a good time, but showing Frankie a bit of her world. Just as he had shown her a bit of his with the sports bars and a few really good hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The 'gems hidden in plain sight' he liked to call them.

To her it seemed like an easy question. "You do have a coat and tie, right?" But the combined look of confusion and worry answered her better then any words could have. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." She breathed out a deep breath and wondered what to do about the dinner reservations for tomorrow as the place had a set dress code.

"I coulda asked, but I've never been to anyplace that didn't just have the usually 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' rule. Heck a few places I've been to on the coast don't even require that."

He smiled up at her as he laughed and Maura couldn't help but melt. It was her misunderstanding so she would figure out the solution to this new problem. With their work schedules and the early reservation at the restaurant, there was no time to find a suit before tomorrow night so she canceled the reservation and decided to pick up a nice meal on the way home. She could pull out her good china, and the whole nine yards and create a nice, relaxing, candlelit dinner right at home. It was a good thing she canceled the reservations anyway as work cut into her Friday evening and early Saturday. Death never was one to take a weekend off.

So the day after their arranged but ill-planned date, Frankie found himself pulling in to Maura's driveway. He did dress up before he went over to Maura's home. However his version of dressy clothes included a pair of slightly wrinkled black slacks and a light blue button up shirt. He wasn't sure why he was nervous as he walked from his car to her front door with a grocery store bouquet of daisies and tulips. But his heart was racing as he pushed the doorbell, and he wiped his sweaty palms on his pant leg as he heard the sound of clicking that he assumed was Maura in her usual heels approaching the door. As the door swung open his breath was stolen as he caught a look at his girl. She was always stunning, but tonight she had taken even more care of her appearance. She was wearing a red dress that hugged her tightly at the top and the shirt flared out to just above her knees. He stared at the amount of bare leg between the end of the shirt to the tall red heels and had to swallow before he could force out the words, "You look gorgeous," and held out the flowers.

She smiled knowingly and took the flowers before stepping back to allow Frankie to come into her home. He had been to her house before, to pick her up for a date and drop her off, but this was the first time he had been inside. As with everything about herself, she even guarded her dwelling, so he knew this was a major leap forward. She had been to his place before though.

She led him to an impeccably set table. He noticed a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket. He smelled the wonderful aromas wafting up from covered dishes. Saw the place setting with a large china dinner plate topped with a smaller plate and finally a bowl. Next to the plates was more silverware then he knew what to do with. "I never understood why anyone needs so many forks."

She pointed to the various utensils: forks for salads and main course, and spoons for soup, coffee, and dessert. It was all so confusing. They ate their dinner, with Maura often giving advice on proper etiquette, and the conversation was kept pretty light. Trying to leave work behind in the office and just using this time to learn more about each other.

After Maura removed the dinner plates and brought out coffee and a couple small bowls of some type of custard, the question about proper utensils was again renewed. "Pop once took us for a celebration dinner. Jane wanted to try lobster and so we splurged after her First Communion." He chuckled and seemed to gaze into the past, seeing his family at dinner rather then Maura at her dinner table. "She didn't know that the little fork that came was to get the meat out. She thought Ma was making a point and trying to get her to take smaller bites. She still figured out how to use it like a mini shovel. Those mashed potatoes didn't know what hit 'em. Ma was mortified."

Maura wasn't sure how the topic of Jane's horrible dining experiences started, but she decided to add her own and informed Frankie about the time Jane stabbed her fish at a dinner party and literally got an eye full. "Man, I can't wait until we tell everyone about us. I can't wait to let Janie know I have more embarrassing stories on her." He laughed but he noticed how Maura tensed up a bit at his comment and he wanted to kick himself for bring up the topic that they were still debating. He reached over and squeezed Maura's hand. "No hurry. We'll tell them when we're both ready." She tried to smile but he could tell it was a bit forced as she got up to start clearing the dishes off the table. When she came back in for the last few dishes he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him. "I mean it." He stood up and pulled her into a fiery kiss to show her that first and foremost it was about just them.

The next morning after the coffee was done brewing and the toaster spit out two lightly toasted onion bagels. Maura again sat down at her dining room table and stared intently at the wall across from her as if to avoid looking at the table and picturing what went on there the night before. Frankie came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her in a good morning hug, "We never did finish our etiquette lesson on dining, did we?" He chuckled. He loved seeing Maura in the mornings. Still a bit sleep tousled and this morning was extra adorable as she was wearing his button up shirt from the night before which fell to mid thigh. She was clutching the cup of coffee like her life depended on it.

She felt the reverberations of his laugh, "Because someone couldn't keep his hands where they belonged. Next time I might need to tie your shoulders to the chair like I saw Madam Rossa do for a very clumsy girl in finishing school. That way you are forced to keep you back straight, your elbows off the table, and your hand can't stray too far."

"Ohh, and the kinky side of Maura Isles comes out. They always do say to watch out for the quiet ones." He sat down in the chair next to her to be able to watch her expression

"Frankie."

"Sis always did say that anyone dating a cop was usually interested in the cuffs."

"Frankie!"

"You're right. We might have to try that again sometime. Your elbows were definitely on the table. And I don't think you kept your back straight"

"FRANKIE!"

He laughed a deep belly laugh-at the cute, embarrassed blush creeping up Maura's face, at the situation, and at his luck at finding someone to make his so happy. He always wanted what his father had with a loving yet often aggravated wife, maybe a kid someday... this was the first time that he thought he had finally found his other half in that scenario. His mirth was infectious as Maura soon caught it and started to chuckle.

They continued to joke and chat as they ate their breakfast, but all too soon Frankie needed to leave. He hated to run out on Maura. Usually their dates were on Friday so that they had the option to hang out late into the evening and through the next day if they so desired. But other than for death, his family would expect him to be at the house on Sunday for their weekly dinner.

He kissed her and then hurried toward the door. He was already running late and could just imagine the scolding his Ma would give him. He really wanted to take Maura as he longed to shout it from the rooftops that he loved this woman, but a small part of him also wanted her to come to shield him from the upcoming tongue lashing. He shouted over his shoulder as he reached the door, "I love you."

She smiled at him and said, "I know." He also couldn't wait until she would feel comfortable saying those words to him...it would be like heaven to his ears.

"Frankie, you have to wake up now. We need to talk. Okay, I need to talk, you can just listen." She listened to the rhythm of the beeps and the whoosh of the ventilators and she closed her eyes to prevent her walls from crumbling from the water pressure. Despite trying, first one tear and then many more started to trail down her checks as she finally had a moment with just herself and those injured a few days ago. The stress of the day and the endless waiting since had finally caught up with her. She leaned her head against his shoulder and literally used it as a shoulder to cry on. She didn't realize that the night nurse was standing in the doorway wondering if she should come in. She decided to check on the rest of her patients before coming back to this room. Hopefully that would give the grieving woman enough time to collect herself.

Hours later, as an early morning sunlight tried to pierce through the closed blinds, the night nurse came to perform her final check of patients before she left for the day. The movement jerked Maura back into the land of the living, and she was grateful to see the nurse and not Angela or Frank as she was still clutching Frankie's hand, and she could feel the tears that had dried on her face. She stood up stiffly and moved out of the way so that Margaret could get better access to the patient and the monitoring devices to make sure that everything was working well. She used that time to go wash the tears off her face, and as she hid the evidence of her hurt, she also shored up the walls to prevent the emotions from overwhelming her. She walked back into the room, looking more like the strong and self-assured woman that most knew her as. She moved the chair from Frankie's bedside and took up her usual set in the middle of her two friends.

The nurse gave her a knowing, sympathetic smile as she finished up jotting notes on first Frankie's and then Jane's charts and walked out the door. Those silent workers who see all, nearly do all, and yet somehow many of them still stayed sane and comforting to patients and their families.

Frank used the keycard and then held the door open for his wife to enter first. "Oh my God, Frank. This place is bigger then our first apartment. It probably costs more a day then we paid in a month too." Granted most anyplace was bigger then the dumpy studio apartment that they first rented biweekly until Tommy started to crawl around, and Angela learned that she was again expecting. Luckily with the bit they saved from living as they did, and some help from their parents. They were able to purchase the house that the family grew up in.

"Maybe she needed to do this, so let her and please don't badger her about it when we go back." He looked around as he placed the small suitcase on the bed .

"I don't badger..." he shot her an odd glance "..much." She heard his muffled snort but decided to ignore it as she was too tired to argue.

They called in for room service as both were too tired to deal with getting back out. While waiting for the food to arrive, Angela changed into a pair of comfortable pajamas and settled against the headboard. With her eyes closed, she heard the knock on the door, and heard as her husband brought in the tray with his chicken and potatoes and her soup and salad as she didn't want something too heavy before she passed out into a blissful, comfortable sleep. She felt the shift of the bed as her husband sat beside her and placed the tray between them. "Almost like a second honeymoon," she said as she opened her eyes. Granted she thought that it was a lot better then the step-up from a sleazy motel that they stayed in and the food looked and smelled much better then the fast food that they grabbed on the way. "Granted then we didn't have kids to worry about though," she said soberly before she took a bite of her crunchy salad.

"Well you were already carrying," Frankie said trying to keep the conversation a bit lighter and remembering some happier times.

"We didn't know that at the time, and thank god your mother bought that Tommy was early, even though he has never been on time for anything in his entire life," she tried not to sound too bitter that he wasn't coming home, even knowing that his siblings were injured. He never liked cops, especially ones who were related.

Whether the topic or the long days, the conversation came to a close and silence hung in the air as they both munched away at their very late dinner. As Frank moved the dishes out into the hall for someone to pick up, Angela turned down the sheets and sighed as she wearily sank into the comfortable bed. The lights were extinguished, and Frank slid into the bed. In the dark with her husband's arms holding her tight, she felt secure enough to finally voice, "I'm scared for Frankie and Janie."

" I know, me too," and he gave her a kiss to the back of her head as they fell asleep.

Six hours after going to sleep, Angela blearily cracked an eye open and stared at the glowing red numbers displaying the time. For a few minutes her sleep fogged brain didn't seem to understand what it was seeing and then she sat up quickly, "Frank wake up. We should have set and alarm." Angela shook his shoulder a few times before finally getting a mumbled response.

"We know the kids are still sleeping, and we needed it too. You always said it was good to nap with the kids would when they were babies." He tried to pull his wife back down so they could get another hour or two of sleep but she was having none of it.

"And I will do that when we get them back to the house. Hell it will be worse than when they were babies. Now there will be three big babies who can talk back and complain about everything."

Frank thought better than asking about who the third cranky 'kid' would be. He got up and stumbled to the bathroom mumbling the whole way, "and she says she doesn't nag."

"I heard that!"

"You always do," he laughed, ducked into the room, and closed the door as he heard the thump as a shoe hit the now closed door.

When he came back out, he saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed waiting to get in the room to take a quick shower. "Plus you know Maura would have called if there was anything new to tell us."

"I think there is something up there. I know that she's good friends with Janie...what if it's more then that?" Angela wondered aloud.

"Then we love them both," but Frank had a feeling his wife was barking up the wrong tree, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He gave her a kiss and said, "go get your shower and I'll call for some breakfast to be set up." They both quickly cleaned up, ate a very quick bite, and then grabbed a few sandwiches and some fruit from the small fridge and headed back over to the hospital to have a quiet picnic with loved ones...waiting for them to wake up.

She felt an object poking into the back of her hand and her senses flared to life, or as much as they could still being dulled by medication. She heard voices around her and focused in on a calming masculine voice asking her to open her eyes. That voice was known, safe, and nothing like the voice of Charles Hoyt who she immediately thought of upon waking up. Her brain started processing that the object poking through her skin was too small, and not as painful as the scalpels that Hoyt had used to pin her hands to the basement floor. However she wished she would have stopped processing herself and her surroundings when she got to the part about why she was laying down.

The pain set her mind into a whirlwind. She wandered backwards in time. Feeling the bullet tear through her body. Hearing the shot. Grappling for the gun. Being dragged out of headquarters...away from her little brother. Frankie, where was Frankie? The fear for her brother, the pain, and the adrenaline starting to course through her body tried to increase her breathing rate. It was then she realized she couldn't breathe like she was trying to.

Jane reached up to claw at the breathing tube. She felt someone grab her hand and hold it tight. She hated the feeling of being restrained as it always lead to something bad, and she was about to fight her attacker when she heard the calming voice again.

"Janie. It's okay. You're okay. Open your eyes up for me, princess. Come on." Finally after days of waiting, Frank Rizzoli was greeted with the beautiful sight of his daughter's eyes. Granted they were pain-filled and not focused, but she was in there. "Hi, sweetheart. You gave your mother and me one hell of a scare." He smiled at her to let her know that her Pop was there to chase away any demons and nightmares.

Jane heard the sniffling first, and then saw her mother standing behind her father's shoulder. She shifted her gaze and saw a smiling, yet weary looking Maura Isles at the foot of her bed. Her gaze then caught on the figure laying across the room.

Maura saw the gaze of her friend look to her and she gave a smile, and then noticed the eyes focus behind her. "He's stable, but I'll let the doctors tell you more when they come in to check you out." And as if on cue, the day nurse Sharron and Dr. Ballard came into the room.

"So Sleeping Beauty finally wakes up," the doctor joked. As the nurse checked the vitals, the doctor asked a few yes or no questions. Jane was just glad that at least it didn't hurt to blink his answers out, even though she seemed to be sluggish in doing that simple task. She blinked once for yes. She thought she could breathe out deeply to get the tube out of her throat.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to exhale forcefully or cough on the count of three. One...two...three."

Jane tried to force air out of the currently blocked windpipe and her chest seemed to explode in pain. Oh my God! Her chest felt like it was on fire. No, it felt worse than that as she remembered when her chest nearly was lit on fire by a burning flare. She was in too much pain to note when the tube was removed and she was left gasping for the filtered hospital air. The change put her in a coughing fit that pulled at torn yet healing muscle, put pressure on her cracked ribs, and constricted the patched up balloon of a lung. She was in a dark haze of pain, and so she had no clue about the nurse inserting a needle into her IV. She was just glad when the pain started to fade away and she felt her body slipping back onto the comfortable pillow of sleep. The last thing she remembered after the pain, but before the all-consuming darkness, was a calloused hand gripping hers tightly and whispering that they would be there when she woke up again.