Series title: Whumptober 2023

Chapters: 1/1

Characters: Maura Isles / Jane Rizzoli

Trigger warnings: Domestic violence.

A/N: The characters and universe don't belong to me. All rights go to TNT, and everyone involved in the production of Rizzoli and Isles, as well as Tess Gerritsen. Everything else belongs to my twisted imagination.

A/N2: "I see the danger, it's written there in your eyes" was supposed to be a one-shot, but many have asked for more. All of these are written as part of the 2023 Whumptober challenge. I'm following the list of prompts and didn't intend to write second parts for any of the one-shots. That's why they're all posted separately.

The first part was written from Maura's POV; the second from Jane's POV. That third part is back to Maura's POV.

Maura was standing in the doorway of her guest room, arms folded over her chest. She was observing the woman who was sleeping in the large bed. Her sleep wasn't of a good quality, but she hadn't expected it to be after what she had witnessed. She couldn't get them out of her mind. The images of dark bruises, red marks, cuts and dislocated bones haunted her mind now that she had seen them. Jane had trusted her to take care of her without judging, had trusted her to allow herself to be vulnerable in front of her and she had trusted her to take pictures of her damaged body after the bath. No one would see any of the pictures unless Jane decided to file a complaint for domestic violence. Maura would keep them in a folder locked with a password on her computer. If it had been her decision, she would already have transferred them to the police. But she respected Jane's choice to keep silent for now.

Maura had ordered takeout, picking Jane's favourite. Thankfully Angela was out for the evening and wouldn't stop by before next morning. Jane wasn't ready to face her. Angela would be on her back and constantly questioning her. Jane needed time to recover before she was reunited with her family. They wouldn't understand. Maura didn't understand herself. Jane hadn't said a word yet. She was communicating with her eyes and hands. And for now, it was working just fine. Maura wouldn't push her to talk or to do anything. She wouldn't leave her either. They had eaten together and since Jane was exhausted, Maura had prepared the guest room for her to lie down and rest. She hadn't dared offering Jane to share her bed, to keep her company. She didn't want to impose herself to her.

Maura knew she wouldn't be able to find sleep tonight. Not after the events of the day. She needed explanations, but Jane wasn't willing to give them just yet. She wouldn't force her to. It was obvious that whatever happened, it had greatly affected her. It was strange to see a woman who had always appeared so strong, who had defeated serial killers being so terrified of her surroundings, of people around her, of their intentions toward her. Maura had made sure all the doors and windows were closed and locked. They had checked every room together, and yet Jane still wasn't at peace. Maura couldn't blame her. That time, the danger had come from inside, from her own home and she hadn't seen it coming until it was too late. Or had she? Could it be that she followed him to the other end of the world because he had forced her to?

Maura replayed the last few weeks before Jane left in her mind. Her friend had had more bruises than usual. She would explain it with uncooperative suspects and clumsiness. The latter was a classic excuse to hide domestic violence, and Maura hadn't seen it. And then, Jane would cancel their evenings together, their lunches. She would stop coming down at the morgue or to her office. Casey wanted to spend more time with his fiancée and Maura couldn't blame Jane. It was the man she loved, the man she was gonna marry and she was just a friend. She wasn't even family. She was barely even a colleague anymore. She had become a stranger in the eyes of the person she valued the most. She had lost her best friend to the hands of a man who couldn't even treat her well. And she hadn't seen anything.

And suddenly Maura was furious at herself. Furious to have been so oblivious to what was obvious, to what Angela had seen before everyone else. She had wanted to protect her daughter, but Jane was stubborn and had only listened to her heart. Her judgement and survival instincts had failed her, and the man had reduced her to a pathetic puppet between his hands. Before she left for good, she had taken a few days off (Jane always refused to take days off!) during which Casey and her got married. She had come back only to hand her resignation over – and anyone who knew Jane had been shocked. She hadn't given any explanation and the next day, she was gone. How could they have thought that she was doing all of it willingly? How could they have let her go with him? They should have held her back, should have talked to her. They had failed her.

Jane's hands reached for her neck and clawed at the skin in a desperate attempt to remove something that wasn't there. Maura was afraid that she might hurt herself if Jane kept scratching herself like that. She quietly approached her friend and gently took her hands to stop her. Jane panicked and fought her. She was too caught up in her nightmare to be aware of her surroundings.

"Leave me alone!"

The voice was huskier than usual, as if it hadn't been used for a long while. It surprised Maura so much that she let go of Jane's hands that immediately went back to scratching the skin of her neck. She wanted to take something off her neck.

Maura moved past the surprise and took Jane's hands back in hers with the same softness and gentleness as before. Jane fought her again. She refused to be touched. She wanted to be left alone. But Maura insisted. She only stepped back when Jane was awake. The terror in her eyes was like a blow to her stomach. It took her breath away.

"Please, take it off."

The cry in her voice broke Maura's heart. She didn't understand. Jane raised a shaking hand to her neck to find that there was nothing. She closed her eyes briefly and when she reopened them, she took the time to assess her surroundings. She became aware of Maura's presence. Relief washed over her.

"What has he done to you, Jane?"

Jane looked down, suddenly silent again. Maura regretted to have asked the question. It had slipped from her lips before she could hold it back. She apologised to her friend, raised a hand to cup her cheek but didn't go to the end of her movement. Jane moved back. She refused to be touched. She struggled to sit up but didn't want any help. Maura sat on the ground, facing her. Jane still wouldn't look at her.

After a moment of silence, Jane held her hand out for Maura to take. Her other hand was placed on her belly, her thumb tracing circles around her belly button. She was doing it a lot, Maura had noticed. A gesture of reassurance for herself and for her baby.

"Ma tried to warn me."

Her voice broke. Maura was careful not to hurt her as she squeezed her hand in an attempt at comfort. She said nothing. Jane had decided to talk to her. She had to listen and try not to say a word until she was done.

"I should've seen what he was doing. I'm an idiot."

"You're not. He manipulated you. That's what abusive people do. They make you think you're the one to blame."

"And it worked."

"Jane, do you remember what you told me when we found out that Dennis Rockmond was a serial killer?"

"You couldn't have known."

"Exactly."

"Ma knew."

"She's your mother. She'll hate anyone you'll bring home."

"Not if it's you."

"Only because you're straight."

Jane looked up at Maura who chuckled. She was pretty sure that Angela would have hated her if Jane had brought her home as a suitor and not as a colleague and friend.

Maura caught the light twitch of Jane's lips. She had managed to make her smile at least. A tiny smile was better than no smile at all. It was soothing her heartache upon seeing her friend so broken.

"I never said I was straight."

"Never did I."

"He was jealous of you, of our friendship. He forced me to cut ties with you first. When I refused, he hit me. He would do it until I gave in. And then, he cut me off my family."

Maura had to retain herself from throwing her arms around Jane when a sob wrecked her body. She forced herself to stay still when all she wanted was to comfort her.

"Just before… just before we left the country, I tried to run away. He caught me before I could leave the house. He broke my legs so I wouldn't have the idea of trying again. And when I was able to walk again, we were already away. He put a collar around my neck and… He had me locked in our house and chained me to the wall. He was deciding everything." She swallowed. "What I was allowed to wear, what I could say. Who I could talk to, when I could go out of the house. When we would have sex. And if I disobeyed…"

Another sob. Maura was angry but she forced herself to stay calm so she wouldn't scare her friend. Tears were running down her cheeks at the tale. Jane wasn't saying it all, but what she was telling her was already too much. He should never have laid a harmful hand on her. If Angela was to hear about that, the man was dead.

"How did you come back here?"

"He's had a permission a few days ago. He said that he would be a good test for my loyalty to him if we travelled back to Boston. He thought I was completely under his control, so he let me out of the collar. I was free. I put sleeping pills in the dinner and pretended to be unwell because of the baby."

"You waited until he was asleep, and you came here."

"What have I done?"

"You did what was best for you and your baby. You saved your lives."

"What if he comes for us?"

"I'm excellent with a scalpel."

That time, Maura got a chuckle through the sobs. Yet, it was the truth. If Casey was to come for Jane and the baby, he would have to get through her first. And she wouldn't be alone. Her family and friends hadn't given up on her. She could count on them to protect her if needed.

"Maur, would you... Would you mind laying with me like we used to?"

"Are you sure?"

"I feel safer around you."

Jane really had to be vulnerable to make such an open-hearted admission. Maura gave her a soft smile and let go of her hand to slowly move around the bed to lay down on the other side of the mattress. Jane laid back down on her side, facing Maura. She hesitantly grabbed her hand and held onto it. She thanked her for opening her door and taking care of her, for listening to her. Maura reassured her. Jane would have done the same if the parts were reversed. After all, that's what friends did for each other...