Hello, and welcome back!

I want to do a little public survey for the following chapters. So, for the next few chapters, we'll keep exploring this storyline, so I'd like to know if you would prefer the writing to go more towards the family's feelings or more into the hit-and-run investigation. Each chapter will have a little bit of both, but I can emphasize in what most people prefer. Well, let me know in the comments. And I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Please comment and review; they help to improve!

B. M. Adams

Xoxo...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from R&I, just this plot and OCs

General POV

Jane and Maura arrived home. They parked their cars and exited them. Both women stopped right in front of their door, knowing they were about to have one of the hardest conversations they had had with their children. How would they be able to explain to a 7 and an almost 10-year-old that their sister had been run over and in a coma badly hurt? Before they could utter a word between them, Angela came out the door and softly closed it behind her.

The older woman stood in front of both mortified-looking women with a solemn expression and her arms crossed in front of her. "How is she?" Angela asked.

They looked at each other, both lost for words to say. A few seconds went by in complete silence. "Ma…" Jane began but stopped at the lack of sufficient words to respond to her mother

"It's bad, Angela," Maura began in a defeated tone. "She has some severe injuries and… well, her prognosis is still unclear. She's in a medically induced coma to help her heal," She briefly explained while Jane simply rubbed her palms and looked at them.

Angela, very unlike herself, remained silent. The older woman looked at them with compassion. She sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes for a moment before looking at them again. She stepped forward to take one hand from each woman in hers. "Megan is young and healthy…. And just as hardheaded as you, Janie. She won't give up easily, not on her family and not on herself," Angela said with conviction, squeezing a little harder both women hands "The kids are in the living room; I will be in the kitchen if you need anything at all" Angela said, letting go of the hands of both women. she tenderly caressed Jane's cheek and gave a last squeeze to Maura's arms before she went back inside the house just as swiftly as she has come out.

They looked at each other as if their gazes could give them strength. Both breathed deeply before pushing the door and going inside their home. For a second, the familiarity of the smell and the warmth of the place made their worry dissipate. They momentarily felt comforted by the feeling their home provided. That somewhat peaceful second downed when they hear their kids coming towards them to greet them. There were two pairs of arms waiting for hugs that they gratefully gave. Both mothers held each kid for longer than they usually would under normal circumstances. The feeling of their kids in their arms was all they needed to regain some of the strength they lost through the horrible day, and they needed it for the conversation they were about to have.

"Hi, baby girl," Jane whispered while holding Lily in her arms, breathing into the soothing scent of her daughter's hair and finding comfort in the little arms that wrapped around her neck and the little legs that wrapped around her torso.

"Hi, Mama," the little girl replied as she melted into the arms of her mother.

Maura had Lucas tightly enveloped in her arms. "You're squeezing me, Mom," he said, but he didn't attempt to move away from his mom's grip. Simply, he rested his head on his Mom's chest and kept his arms encircling her mother's waist.

"Sorry, baby," She said as she broke the hug. She kept the boy at arm's distance and lovingly looked at him before giving him a kiss on his forehead.

The boy saw his mothers' face and noticed her reddened eyes and sombre expression in her face, but he also noticed how Jane was holding his sister in her arms. He knew something was wrong "Is everything ok?" He asked

Jane looked at Maura, who nodded. "Why don't we go and talk in the living room?" She proposed, looking at the boy who was intently and intriguingly looking back and forth between his moms and then at the girl in her arms. As they walked to the living room, Lily extended her arms towards Maura so she could cuddle with her. Maura welcomed the embrace meanwhile Jane and Lucas walked in front of them, Jane leaned and kissed the crown of her son's head.

Both mothers sat on the couch in their living room, Lucas nestled between them while Lily sat on Maura's lap, her small fingers gripping the hem of the sleeves of Maura's sweater. Both kids looked up at them with wide, worried eyes, sensing that whatever their moms were about to say was serious by their solemn expressions and demeanour.

"What's going on?" Lucas spoke again, now getting scared at the little response his mothers were giving them.

Jane sighed deeply. "Well, it's about Megan…" she managed to say.

Lucas sat up straighter, his brow furrowing. "Is she okay?" he said before his mother finished.

Maura wrapped an arm around Lily, who was already clinging to her tighter. "Megan was in an accident today," she said gently while absentmindedly caressing Lily's soft hair.

Lily opened her eyes as wide as she could. "What kind of accident?" Her little voice wobbled, and she buried her face against Maura's shoulder.

Lucas's face paled. "But she's gonna be okay, right?" he asked quickly, his gaze flicking between his moms, searching for reassurance but finding a look of uncertainty in their faces.

Jane knew Maura was incapable of telling the kids something like this, something she wasn't certain about. Jane swallowed hard. "She…She got hurt really badly, buddy. She's in the hospital, and right now… she's sleeping. A really, really deep sleep." She tried to explain without giving them too many details to avoid scaring them even more.

Lily sniffled, peeking up from Maura's shoulder. "Like Princess Aurora in the story?" she innocently asked.

The sweetness in her daughter's voice made Jane's eyes well up in tears. The innocence they carried was a source of comfort for a heartache to her as well. She knew they had to process everything as they could, but this was one of those situations they, as adults, couldn't fully comprehend, let alone two small kids would fully understand it.

Maura pressed a kiss to the top of Lily's head. "Something like that, sweetie. It's called a coma. Her body needs time to heal, and we don't know when she'll wake up."

There were a few seconds of silence. Lucas clenched his fists, his jaw tightening like he was trying not to cry. "But she will wake up, right?" Lucas asked directly as he was not receiving enough information from his moms; they were vague, and he knew the situation had to be worse than what they were letting on.

Again, Maura was unable to answer; she knew anything she could say would be a lie. They didn't know when she would wake up, how or even if she would. It was up to the wounded and battered girl lying in the hospital bed. Jane reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. "We really, really hope so, buddy... The doctors are doing everything they can, and we're going to be with her every step of the way."

Silence hung heavy between them briefly before Lily whispered, "I want Meg to come home." Maura held her tighter while Jane rubbed her back and kept an arm around Lucas

Maura felt her heart clench at the deep pain that Lily's voice reflected. "We do too, baby, we do too," she said, pressing another kiss in the girl's temple and caressing Lucas' hair.

Lucas blinked quickly, trying to hold back tears. "Can we go see her?" he said, directing her gaze to Maur.

"Can we, Mommy?" Lily asked with a pouty face.

Maura gave them an apologetic smile "Not yet, babies. Megan is in a part of the hospital that is only for grown-ups right now," Maura explained.

"That's not fair!" Lucas raised his voice, angered at the negative. Lily buried her face again in Maura's neck, shocked at the sudden loud voice Lucas used

"Luc, I know it's not fair. But right now, Megan needs time to heal, and for that, she needs a lot of rest," Jane said, but she knew that would not suffice his son's determination. "Megan is really weak right now, and having lots of people around can make her sicker because we go out and get to touch stuff, so we get germs. Those germs could make Megan stay asleep for longer. So, less people, less germs, less risk for Megan" she tried to make as much sense as possible.

"But I can, like, wash my hands really well and, like, not get too close to her?" Lucas pouted.

Jane chuckled and held the kid's shoulder and lovingly looked at him "I know buddy, is just that Megan is really hurt, and she needs just time to heal" She said trying with all her might to contain the tears that were pooling in the corner of her eyes. "I know you two want to go, little man," She said, her gaze darting between her two kids.

"Megan would love to have you two next to her, giving her all your love. But for now, she just needs lots of rest so that she can get stronger," Maura then chimed in. "She's got a lot of machines helping her right now, and she might look a little different… As soon as Megan is better, you two will be the first ones to see her," Maura reassured, still holding Lily in her lap and now cupping Lucas' cheek with her hand.

"So, she's gonna be all alone there?" Lily questioned.

Jane shook her head. "No, either Mommy or I will stay with her; meanwhile, one of us is here with you. Neither of you is ever going to be alone. Mommy and Mama will always be there for you" Jane assured "So, tonight Mommy will go back to stay with Meggie, and I will stay with you" She said but saw how Lily cuddled further into Maura and Lucas remained silent but his eyelids where growing heavy, she noticed. Jane looked at Maura and gave a slight smile. "And tomorrow morning, we can have pancakes for breakfast," Jane said, trying to cheer up the kids. Lucas smiled and nodded his head and Lily did the same.

The stayed for a little longer giving the kids some so much needed time with their mothers, they took some time tucking them into bed, making sure they were reassured that Megan was in the best possible care and she was fighting really hard to get back home so they can go back to normalcy. Jane managed to put Lily to bed quite fast; it was late, and the girl was exhausted.

"Mama?" Lily called Jane, who was putting the book they were reading away.

The brunette turned around and walked closer to the bed. "Yes, baby?" She asked, softly caressing the little girl's hair.

"Can you give Mr. Bear to Mommy before she leaves so that she can give it to Meggie?" She asked, turning around fully to face her Mama.

Jane quizzically looked at the girl. "Why do you want Mommy to take your teddy bear to Megs?" Jane asked, genuinely curious.

The girl shrugged. "Meggie gave it to me to make me feel better in the plane, so Mr Bear will make her feel better now that she's hurt" The girl with a kind of innocence and love Jane could only describe as sisterly love. She had brothers, and she would die for them, but as she had heard, sisters share a different kind of bond, and she was sure this was it. Lily was 7 years old, and she likely couldn't fully comprehend the severity of Megan's injuries, but Lily's gesture was the best way to describe the love siblings have for each other.

Jane tried to hold her tears the best she could before she spoke, "You know, cutie pie, that's a great idea. I'm sure Megs' gonna really appreciate Mr. Bear. She'll be fine in no time," She whispered as she got close to the girl and kissed her forehead. The girl smiled contently, knowing her idea would help her sister get better. "Good night, baby girl. I love you," Jane said as she stood up from the bed and walked towards the door, grabbing Mr. Bear from Lily's nightstand on her way out.

"Night, Mama," the girl said as she snuggled in her bed and turned to her side, getting comfortable and drifting off to sleep.

On her way downstairs, Jane went by Lucas' room, and Maura was still with him reading a book; it was something they hadn't done with him for a while; he was almost 10 now and too old for bedtime stories, according to his own accounts, thought obviously for Jane and Maura, it didn't matter how old their kids grow, they would always be their babies.

Jane descended the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. The air smelled of coffee and the faint remnants of whatever Angela had been cooking earlier. Angela stood by the counter, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Angela exhaled shakily, then straightened, her maternal instinct kicking in. "I know you might have no appetite, but you two need to eat something, and I'm sure you haven't eaten anything the whole day."

Jane let out a tired chuckle, trying to argue, the brunette felt her stomach was in knots and was unable to bare any food at the moment. "Ma…"

"No arguing, Janie," Angela cut her off. "I can't do anything for Megan right now, but I can make sure you two don't fall over from exhaustion." She said as she saw Maura coming into the kitchen.

Maura gave her a small, appreciative smile. "That would actually be wonderful, Angela. Thank you," she said, walking towards Jane to hold her hand and pulling her close. "Did Lily go down easily?" Maura asked.

Jane nodded. "Yes, she was really easy to put down… What about the little man?" Jane asked subsequently.

"Well, he has a lot of questions, and he is still not happy that he can't see Megan yet," Maura explained. "Is understandable," Maura then reasoned.

Jane nodded, but before she could reply, Angela placed two steaming bowls of Pastina in Brodo in front of them. "I know you won't be hungry, but a little soup is good for the soul. You need to take care of yourselves if you want to take care of Megan," Angela said with a small smile. Both ladies ate their soup in silence, welcoming the comfort the warmth it brought to them.

"I will go and get my overnight bag ready," Maura said after she finished her soup. Jane simply nodded, still sipping on her soup. "Thank you, Angela." She then said to the older woman with a smile.

Angela smiled back at her "You're very much welcome, sweetie" She said. Maura left the kitchen, leaving Angela and Jane alone. Angela washed Maura's bowl. When she turned around, Jane was covering her face with her hands and further leaning against the kitchen island. Angela dried her hands and walked towards Jane. She simply rubbed her daughter's back. "She will be fine, Janie. Megan is a strong and resilient girl. She's a Rizzoli and an Isles. Neither give up easily," Angela tried to sound convincing.

Jane let out a soft sob she had been suppressing ever since she knew her daughter had been injured, but she didn't respond.

"Jane," she murmured, brushing a thumb across her daughter's cheek. "Talk to me. honey."

Jane's throat tightened. She wanted to say she was fine, that she was holding it together, but the truth clawed its way out instead. "I'm scared, Ma," she admitted in a whisper. "I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't wake up."

Angela pulled her into a tight embrace, stroking her hair. "Oh, Honey." Jane stiffened for half a second before melting into the hug, letting out a shaky breath. "I know she's fighting to come back to us, Janie," Angela tried to reassure.

"I don't know what we'd do if we lose her, Ma," Jane said with a vulnerability in her voice that Angela wasn't used to hearing.

Angela rubbed Jane's back, trying to bring some measure of comfort to her daughter "Janie, you won't lose her. We won't lose her. I know we don't know what's going to happen, but I know Megan, and she is just as stubborn as you, she won't go without a fight… she loves you, Maura and the kids too much to do that to you," Angela said. Jane didn't say anything but remained in Angela's arms for a little while until they heard Maura coming down the stairs.

"I will be leaving now; I will keep you informed of anything," Maura said as she came inside the kitchen.

Jane simply stood from the stool and hugged Maura tightly, kissing her. "Please, give Meg a kiss and tell her… Oh! Wait a second," Jane said, running to retrieve Mr. Bear. "Lily said to bring Megan Mr Bear," She said, handing Maura the toy.

Maura looked quizzically at Jane, questioning why Lily wanted to give Megan the teddy bear. "Lily said Mr. Bear will help her get better, because it helped her get better on the plane that time we went to the beach" Jane explained.

The blonde doctor couldn't help her heart melt at the sweet innocence and love her little 7-year-old had in her. "I will. I love you, Jane," Maura said at the lack of better words given the lump in her throat.

"I love you, too, Maur," Jane said, kissing her again. "Tell Meg I love her too."

Maura gave a quick hug to Angela, who shooed her toward the door. "Go. And tell Megan that her Nonna is waiting for her to wake up, so she better not keep me waiting too long." Angela said in her own distinctive fashion. Maura left the house feeling a little better after having the chance to be with her kids and have at least some comfort food in her stomach.

Xx Two days later xX

There were two days of no news, neither on the investigation nor many changes in Megan's condition. The swelling in her brain had subsided, and the fluid in her damaged lung was minimal now, but there was still concern surrounding the damage of the punctures in the lung and how it would respond when taken off of the ventilator. As well, they weren't sure if the few seconds without oxygen she experienced while she flatlined during the surgery could have affected her hearing. There were many questions that would remain without answer until the girl regained consciousness.

The team was investigating Megan's hit and run, even thought and it thankfully wasn't a murder, Cavanaugh understood Korsak's reasoning to let them run this one though Jane couldn't actively participate as she was the mother of the victim, she would chime in once in a while to help them out. Korsak and Frost knew they weren't supposed to give Jane information about an ongoing case, but as Cavanaugh had implied, more eyes could see more, so Jane was helping them in the shadows, but being careful that show wouldn't be too obvious.

"Well, after enhancing the picture enough we could get a partial license plate, it results that the car that hit Megan was a stolen car. The owner is Connor Evans, 34," Said Frost, putting up a picture on the screen. "He has an airtight alibi. Was in New York with his wife and daughter, they have pictures, hotel and rental car bookings, credit card receipts. He found his garage broken into as they got home on Tuesday," Frost explained, looking around for people snooping. They were not supposed to give this information to Jane, but both Korsak and Frost knew that would be a death sentence for them; Jane would find out on her own if they didn't share it with her. It was risky, but neither cared. Jane was the mother of the victim, and they knew she wouldn't rest until the perpetrator was behind bars.

"So, the night before Megan was hit", Jane said, sitting on Frost's desk, thinking hard, trying to put the little pieces of the puzzle they had so far. "Do they have CCTV at home?" Jane enquired.

Frots shook his head. "They do, but the person who stole the car broke them before stealing the car. The thief used a mask, so we don't have details of the face" Frost said somewhat frustrated "But some of the streets' CCTV and traffic cameras took this picture" Frost said pulling the picture up on the screen. "If you notice the height of the thief against the height of the lamppost, the software approximated a height of 5′ 11″ to 6′ 1″," Frost continued.

"Casey is 5′ 11″ Jane assured, crossing her arms and walking closer to the screen to have a good look at the darkened figure lurking in the dark streets.

Both Korsak and Frost looked at each other and nodded. "We haven't dropped the idea that it was Casey, Jane. But we are looking into every angle. We want to take the bastard that did this to Megan to jail, but we can't overlook other suspects," Korsak explained. Jane just looked at them, nodded and sighed, walking back to sit at the edge of the desk.

"These are some boot marks found on the grass of the front yard of the Evans' house. And the lab has a couple of hairs and partial prints that were found in the car this morning. The lab is working around the clock to get these analysed as soon as possible," Frost reassured the brunette, who was now picking at her nails with nerves.

"So, we have basically nothing yet", Jane snorted frustratedly and angrily.

"Not much to go by for now. But we have the cameras from the surrounding streets; Frost and I will stay until we process them. Something will come up. We will track the route the car used and where it was stored until the hit happened. Frankie and Crow are asking around the neighbourhood and the school to see if anyone saw something," Korsak said, trying his best to reassure the detective. "I promise you, Jane, that no one will rest until we bring that son of bitch to justice," Korsak said determinedly, resting his hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze.

Jane looked at him with glazy eyes and rested her hand over his in a silent thank you. "Jane, is past 7 pm, go to the hospital or home, spend some time to with your kids. Get out of here" Then Korsak said," That's an order, Rizzoli."

Jane nodded "Thank you, Guys" She said barely above a whisper. She grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and left the building en route to the hospital to check on Megan and Maura before heading home to spend the nights with the kids.

"How is she?" Jane as she walked inside the dimly lit room.

Maura looked up from the medical journal she was reading and found the smallest hint of a smile on her wife's lips. She stood up and kissed, rejoicing in her touch and embrace. "Stable; the swelling is practically all gone in her brain; they will remove the tube from her thorax tomorrow if there are no changes," she explained. "Hopefully, by the weekend, she will be stable enough to remove the medication and let her wake up on her own. The ventilator will have to remain until they can assess her lung capacity, though," She said but exhaled loudly and rubbed her forehead, returning to the chair.

"That's good right, but by the look on your face it doesn't see" Jane said walking towards Maura.

"It is" She replied "But then as soon as the start reducing the medication, is up to her to wake up" Maura said, turning her gaze to the girl in the bed, holding her hand.

Jane walked closer and took Maura's free hand in hers. "And she will," Jane whispered. "You heard that kid? You are worrying your Mom. So, you have to wake up, young lady. You can't keep your moms all worried about you for so long. We're too old for that kind of stress," Jane spoke to the girl, trying to lighten the mood.

Maura broadly smiled and laughed at her wife's antics. Oh, she loved that woman with all her heart. "Who are you calling old?" She followed the little banter.

"I have to nudge her somehow, don't you think?" Jane smiled at her wife, rubbing her hand and leaning over her to kiss the crown of her head. "I just came to see how you were doing before heading home," She said, "I'm hopeful, Maur, she will come back to us." She whispered, determined.

Maura nodded. "You know I don't handle uncertainty well, Love. But I know our Megan, and I hate to see her like this," Maura mused, looking at the pale and still wounded yet peaceful face of the girl, though obstructed by a tube that came out of her mouth, keeping her breathing.

Jane nodded. "She will, Maur," She said as she walked to the other side of the bed and, softly caressed the girl's cheek and kissed her temple. "We are all here waiting for you, sweetheart, your brother and sister and really missing you now, and your Nonna, Pépé, Mémé, your uncles, aunt and cousin are all really impatience to see you, too. So, better shake a leg, kid…. We need you back," Jane said, giving another kiss to the girl's temple. Jane walked back to Maura and gave a kiss, this time deepening the kiss, pouring all the love and longing she felt. Maura corresponded and also continued deepening the kiss. "I love you, Maur." Jane then said as soon as they separated for so much needed air.

"I love you, Jane, so, so much," The blonde said. After a few more minutes of holding each other, Jane left the hospital, leaving Maura to contemplate the stillness of the girl in the bed.

Please leave your comments below and let me know what you guys would prefer. If more details on the investigation or just concentrate more on the family.

Please review!

With Love B.

Xoxo.