DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rizzoli & Isles nor any of the characters from the show. I am writing this purely for entertainment, not profit. Rizzoli and Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen and TNT.

Please find the full disclaimers in the beginning of Chapter 1.

Chapter 9

Maura stumbled and fell on her knees.

Jane was by her side in the blink of an eye, kneeling down as well.

They had been walking for almost eight hours already, but they had another four to go before there was light in the sky.

"Maura?"

Maura's head lolled on Jane's shoulder.

"Maura?"

Maura seemed to wake up from her torpor.

"Hmmmm."

"Maura, are you okay?" Jane's voice was urgent, cupping Maura's face to look at her.

"I can't go on, Jane…"

"Why? What happened?"

"I have no strength left… I am exhausted…"

Jane picked the tin from her backpack, and opened it handing it to Maura.

"Please, eat."

"We can't."

"We can. We are almost there. Go ahead, eat."

Maura picked the last nuts, and munched on them slowly. While Maura ate, Jane observed the pinkish trail left on the wake of Maura's right leg. Her wound was likely bleeding slowly, and that was taking an additional toll on Maura's already sapped energy.

"I think we need to tighten the bandage on your leg." Jane began pulling the leg of Maura's pants up.

Maura just nodded, tiredly, and made the adjustment. Jane saw the bandage was all bloodied, but changing it now would be pointless. She would do so when they stopped to sleep in another four hours. Because Jane was sure, at their current pace, they would not have crossed the border in four hours.

Jane put the leg pants inside Maura's boots again and stood up, swaying under the light snow, before she helped Maura to stand.

"Can you keep going just a little longer? We will be there soon…" Jane lied.

Maura nodded, tiredly.

And they resumed walking.

Again once Jane saw the 5AM mark on her watch, she began keeping an eye open for shelter for them to spend the day. They had not seen anyone, but she would rather be safe than sorry. She was beginning to worry after one hour when she finally saw a small dwelling. She picked up her pocket Swiss-knife from her boot before she pushed the door open. But thankfully again the place was empty.

She motioned Maura inside, spreading a straw mat from a corner on the floor. Maura just collapsed and crawled curling around herself. Jane looked at her with concern. Maura clearly was disconnected from the world, seemingly not even concerned that Jane had lied, that it was dawn and they had not yet crossed the border. Jane knew there was nothing left in terms of energy for Maura to give. She had been moving in overdrive already for a while. Jane could only hope that ten to twelve hours of rest could restore enough energy for them to overcome the last few miles separating them from proper help.

Jane crawled to the door, scooping some fresh snow on the towel now stiff with blood that she had been using on her head wound. The cold helped, and holding it in place with the woolen hat, Jane laid down around Maura, trying to keep her warm.

Jane rolled on her back. Her entire body felt stiff, as if every part was made of wood. She looked at her watch and was surprised to find out it was already 5.30PM. The way she was feeling, she had hoped there were still a few hours left for her to rest. She shook her head trying to clear her fuzzy mind a little, and regretted it immediately, the pain making her nauseous. She blinked a few times. No… Continuing lying down was not an option. Jane was sure that if they stayed, they would never wake up again. She forced herself to sit, and popped the last two painkiller pills from their medicine pouch on her mouth. She then crawled outside bringing fresh snow. She quickly replaced the one on her head, and then lifted the leg of Maura's pants to change the bandage. It clearly had been bleeding. Jane placed the fresh snow, sorry that would be the way Maura would wake up, but Maura didn't even stir. Jane finished tying the sock in place as the improvised bandage on Maura's calf, and stuck the leg of the pants back into the boots, before she tried to wake up Maura.

But if the cold snow directly on Maura's skin had not been enough, there was no shaking or calling that made a difference.

Jane removed her glove urgently, panic raising on her chest, her trembling numb fingers searching for a pulse. She found one, erratic and feeble.

Maura was alive. But unconscious. Jane practically heard Maura's voice in her head. Hypothermia. The cold, the shock, the hunger, the extreme physical effort, it all had culminated in this.

Jane's heart constricted. She needed to get Maura back to civilization, now. She debated trying to go into one of the villages to steal a bike. But she was not sure about what she was going to find. She didn't trust she could handle anyone she found. She herself had no energy left. Deviating from the path would not help.

Jane checked her map, crumpled and bloodied now. Eight miles. Three hours tops in regular conditions. Jane steeled herself. She could carry Maura for eight miles. She would be slower, it was true, and instead of doing it in three hours she would likely take eight or nine. But she had almost twelve hours of darkness ahead of her to keep them safe.

Jane tried to make Maura drink from the thermos, but it was pointless. Jane drank, and filled the thermos again, storing it on her backpack. She picked Maura's backpack and stuffed inside of hers. Then she removed her parka, dressing Maura up in another layer of warmth, trying the only measure she could think of to help with hypothermia. And then Jane picked Maura up on her arms. Although Maura was dead weight now, she was still much lighter than Jane had anticipated. Anyway, Jane knew she was in no shape to carry Maura – she barely could carry herself. But she steeled herself and stood, swaying. She gave two steps to support her back by the dwelling wall, breathing slowly to control the pounding on her head and the dizziness, and then she began to move.

The cold air was bitter when she opened the dwelling door. Her parka was involving Maura, and Jane still had a heavy woolen sweater on her. But the wind was cutting. The good thing, Jane thought, was that it would keep her awake and moving to try to keep warm.

And so, slowly and painfully, Jane moved one foot ahead of the other, and repeated. At first, she counted. When she lost count at some point over one thousand, she prayed. She tried to pray the rosary. But she also lost count of how many Hail Mary's she had prayed, and then she just spoke with God. She pleaded. She begged. For Him to allow them to reach safety, to get help in time for Maura. That was all Jane asked for.

She stumbled and fell, her feet heavy, her head empty and buzzing now, but she held on to Maura, not dropping her once. Jane knew she was at the end of her own rope by now. But she begged God, and in a herculean effort, stood up again, panting.

She kept pushing. She was sure she was much slower than she had anticipated. She had thought she would need no more than nine hours to cover those last eight miles separating them from help across the border. But she could already see the first signs of dawn, what meant she had been walking for almost twelve hours already. And this time she knew she could not afford to stop to rest. If she stopped, she would not wake up. She would need to risk it – she should not be far from the border now, but she had no chance to check the map up, if she stopped and placed Maura down she knew her tired, stiff and numb arms would refuse to pick her up again. So Jane just kept pushing forward.