Chapter ten

Maura almost stopped to admire the body in front of her, considering the excellent physique and the long limbs. But then she saw that the pool of blood kept getting larger and larger around the Detective's body. This was the moment reality started to sink in for Maura.

She was a doctor. And in a moment of crisis a doctor does not stop to wonder whether she's crazy because a minute before she saw an animal lying down on the floor where now a person lay. A doctor cared only for the person, a person obviously in need of medical assistance. Jane's eyes fluttered open and she drew in a deep breath, only to turn her head to the side and cough convulsively, blood rolling down the corner of her mouth.

Maura knelt next to her, the towel she had brought pressed against the Detective's stomach with one hand, just as the other reached in her pocket for her phone. She again was ready to dial for an ambulance when a call came in and she mechanically answered.

''Dr Isles.'' It was sergeant Korsak. ''Good evening, have you seen Detective Rizzoli?''

''Sergeant Korsak!'' Maura managed, setting the phone on speaker and pressing down on the towel with both hands. ''I need you to call an ambulance at my place! Jane's been shot!''

''Shot?! What?!'' His voice grew alert and she heard the sound of the heavy man rising from his seat. ''Is she okay?!''

''You have to call an ambulance!''

''You cant!'' He shouted at her. ''You can't call an ambulance!''

''What?!''Maura asked, almost forgetting to keep applying pressure at the absurdity of what he was suggesting.

''You have to trust me! A hospital could kill her!'' He was desperate now and she heard the sound of a car door slamming. ''I'm coming there now, I beg of you, don't do anything!''

Had it been anyone else suggesting this she would have had already hang up and called an ambulance herself but it was a man she felt she deeply trusted. She wasn't sure what he was trying to tell her though.

''The bleeding is going to kill her!'' She protested logically.

''It's going to stop in a few minutes, she's going to be fine, just don't do anything!'' He urged. She could hear traffic from his side of the line. With disbelief she withdrew the towel she was holding and she realised the stream of blood was turned into a small trickle. Then she saw that this was not her only problem because there was another spot, on Jane's left shoulder, from which the bleeding was persisting.

''Do you know what kind of weapon was used?'' He asked. ''Is the danger gone, are you safe Dr Isles?''

''Yes, yes I'm safe...'' She reached for the weapon Dennis had used and its weight felt alien in her palm.

''Are you able to check what type of bullet was used?''

She wrapped another towel around Jane's shoulder, as securely as she could manage and she popped clip to inspect the bullets. The cartridges inside where nothing like she had seen cops use. She had seen this type of bullet only once before in her life, the bullet she had pulled out of a dead man's skull, and that bullet had been made of pure silver.

''I think...'' She said quietly. ''I think it was made of silver.'' She pressed down hard against Jane's shoulder and she was very worried when she got no reaction. ''I'm afraid I don't understand.''

''I'm coming in.'' She heard him say and true enough she watched him walk inside her kitchen. He immediately knelt down next to them, his grey slacks getting stained by Jane's blood. Much to Maura's surprise he turned his face upwards and scented the air.

''That's definitely silver.'' He nodded, his palm resting on the towel covering Jane's shoulder. ''You need to get that out doc.'' He said, before rising to his feet and started shutting windows and drawing the curtains.

''You are out of your mind!'' Maura would have laughed if Jane's life wasn't on the line. ''She needs to go to a hospital!''

''She can't!'' Korsak snapped, trying to rearrange Maura's front door that had been torn by its hinges.

Maura just blinked at him and reached for her phone, ready for the third time that evening to dial 911. Before she even realised it the heavy man was kneeling next to her again, his hand locked around her wrist, not painfully but securely.

''Don't make me do something I don't want to, doctor.'' His face was gentle but the lines around his face underlined his statement. ''You can't take her to a hospital, you wouldn't only be risking her life, but yours also.'' He casted a sideways glance to Jane and ground his teeth. ''You need to get that bullet out, soon, or she isn't going to get any better.'' He tucked a stray strand behind Jane's ear and leaned closer to the Detective. ''Jane, can you hear me?'' He rested the back of his hand against her forehead. ''That's not good.'' He looked up to Maura. ''She's already reacting to the silver, she's burning up, you need to get it out.'' Trailing down to the Detective's stomach he paused. ''This one went through her but you need to take the other bullet out of her shoulder.''

Wanting to check for herself Maura reached to touch Jane's cheek but the minute she touched the burning flesh the brunette opened her eyes, without really seeing any of the other two people in the room. Maura flinched, pulling away because the warm brown eyes she remembered were now burning blue with energy. Korsak was right, Jane was running a high fever.

''Why is she reacting like this?!'' She asked shakily and the man run his hands up and down Jane's arms until the Detective's eyes closed again.

''Isn't it obvious?'' He asked. ''Do you know many people affected by silver?'' His hands clenched to fists at the sight of the discarded weapon. ''The question is why someone was carrying those bullets. Who shot Jane?''

''De-Dennis, my husband, I don't understand!'' She threw her hands up in exasperation. This was ridiculous.

''Dr Isles...'' He said in a slow voice, and when he turned to her his own eyes were burning with the same blue fire she had seen in Jane's. ''What exactly do you not understand?''

''Wh-Wh-What the hell are you?!'' The Doctor whispered, pulling away from both of them. This had to be a joke. It couldn't be anything but a bad joke.

Jane's breathing was coming out labored now, her entire body covered by a sheen of sweat as her body tried to regulate her temperature and failed.

''It doesn't matter.'' Korsak insisted. ''You need to get that bullet out, now! I don't have time to call one of our medics, he'd never make it here.'' He rose to his feet, arms open in frustration. ''You need to hurry up!''

Maura again, just blinked. She hated herself for freezing this way but she had never had to deal with a situation like this before. She had to admit she was scared, no, more than scared, she was terrified, but she still was a doctor.

''Okay! Okay!'' she muttered. ''I'm going to get my bag, I need you to get more towels, start boiling some water, oh God, I have no anesthetics in the house-''

''It's okay, they wouldn't work anyway.''

She frowned at him, turning her medical bag upside down in frustration to look at it's contents. ''Huh?''

''Our metabolism is way too fast, anesthetics don't last.''

''Your metabolism? That's just dumb.'' Maura sighed. ''Jane probably has some kind of allergy to silver-''

''Doctor...'' Korsak growled at her, showing fully extended canines. ''Denyal isn't going to get you anywhere.''

Almost two hours later Jane was settled in Maura's guest house upstairs and the Doctor was sitting on a chair by the bed, frequently dabbing a wet cloth over the Detective's forehead. Korsak was leaning against the door frame, trying to explain to her only as much as he had to.

''You can't tell anyone about this. I don't know why Mr Rockmond had a gun loaded with silver bullets but we need to find out who gave this gun to him, or we could all be in great danger.'' He rubbed his eyes wearily. ''I know it doesn't sound fair but if you tell anyone what you saw you might be in more danger than you already are.''

''Is Jane going to be alright?'' Maura asked, her own eyes heavy with exhaustion.

''If the fever goes down in the next twenty four hours it means she's fighting this.'' He took another chair and sat heavily opposite the Doctor. ''I apologise for scaring you earlier. If I had let you take Jane to a hospital she might have shifted and lost control.''

''Shifted?'' Maura asked incredulously.

''You didn't see Jane get shot, right?'' He looked down at the woman asleep in the bed. ''She wasn't in human form when she was shot, she must have shifted afterwards. What did you see Dr Isles?''

''I saw a big black dog...'' She said quietly, her tired brain trying to put two and two together.

''You saw a wolf.''

Finally it was all clear. ''Jane's a werewolf?'' Maura half laughed.

I think I've finally figured out the story line of this so buckle up because we're going to meet Hoyt soon, but I'd also like another idea about a bad guy, if you have any idea who that would be great. Let me know how I'm doing. Poor Maura
LK