Memories Of A Life Together...
Title: Memories of a life together part 8: Don't Mess With Family
Author: Loopyem89
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jane/ Maura (Rizzoli & Isles)
Category: Drama/Romance
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. No infringement intended and no profit will be made from their use.
Summary: Following on from 'The Beast In Me', what if Doyle's enemies strike again...
Author’s Note: Ok so here's the 8th part in the series. Suggestions, comments etc are always appreciated. Also thanks to all of you who have commented so far, glad your enjoying it =)
Memories of a life together: Part 8
Jane looked at the clock and sighed when she noticed how late it was, for the third time that week she had not made it home until 11 had gone. The long days combined with not spending time with her family made the detective cranky and she wanted nothing more than to slip into bed and wrap her arms around her wife. Before that though she silently crept into her daughter’s room where the 2 year old was peacefully sleeping. Jane pulled the blanket which had fallen down back up around the little girl and tucked her in, leaving only after dropping a kiss to her forehead. She then headed towards the bedroom where she expected Maura to be sleeping soundly as well; instead she was surprised to find her wife up sitting in the window seat gazing out into the darkness.
“Maura?” A weak smile appeared on the woman’s face when she turned to see the detective standing there but she made no effort to move, instead choosing to gaze back outside. Jane placed her badge and gun on the bedside table before she moved and made her way over to where her wife sat. She positioned herself to sit behind and wrapped her arms around Maura who instantly leaned back into the embrace.
‘I’ve missed this.”
“Mmm me too. I’m sorry Maura; I know I haven’t been around as much lately, even at work we haven’t had much time together.”
“It’s ok Jane; you have a serial killer to catch so it’s understandable.” They remained like that for a little while, both enjoying the closeness they had been yearning for over the last few days. Jane brushed Maura’s hair to the side and placed a few delicate kisses on the exposed neck as she entwined her own hand with the woman’s.
“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” spoke Jane, breaking the silence. She had noticed the pensive look on her wife’s face and even during the day when she had quickly popped down to the morgue to see the blonde, she had been distant. It was something the detective was not used to seeing and it worried her.
“Bad memories and I just wish I could make them disappear. I hate feeling like this, it’s not who I am.”
“This has to do with O’Connor.” Maura nodded her head as her eyes remained fixed on the night outside. Jane let out a shaky breath as memories from those terrifying few hours came to the fore front of her mind; she could still remember the fear that gripped her after receiving the phone call to hear that her wife had been kidnapped. For her it was a glimpse of how Maura felt each time she found out that she had been hurt on the job and it still haunted her to this day.
“It was a year ago today, I thought I was over it and then I saw the date this morning and it all came flooding back in my mind…”
********************************************************************************************************************
Jane just managed to hear the noise of her cell phone begin to ring over the sounds of the afternoon traffic in Boston; a lead in a case had proven to be a dead end for her and Frost so they were on their way back to the car parked across the street. She saw her brother’s name appear on the caller’s display and moved to answer it.
“Frankie, you’ve picked a bad time to ring, unless this is important I’ll have to ring ya back.”
“Jane this is important…It’s Maura” He stuttered over his words, trying to compose himself as he tried to deliver the news.
“Frankie, what’s going on? What’s wrong with Maura?” The panic that had arisen in her voice was unmistakable and Frost moved next to her in concern when he noticed she had stopped following him from behind. She put the phone on speak to allow him to listen in on the conversation she was having with her brother.
“Dispatch got a call about a disturbance at your place just under an hour ago; neighbors heard shouting and the sounds of glass being broken. I recognized the address and so Daniels and I took the call ourselves.”
Jane had a death grip on the phone as she gestured to Frost and hurried to the car, “Frankie where’s Maura?”
“Janie she’s gone, whoever was here has taken her somewhere. We’re talking to neighbors to see if anyone saw anything but so far nothing has come up.” The detective was unsure of what to do; rational thinking had long gone only to be replaced by fear. Her thoughts immediately turned to her daughter who Maura had taken the day off to look after.
“Evie! What about Evie? Please tell me she’s ok?”
“She’s fine Jane; we found her upstairs in her crib crying but otherwise ok.” Jane let out a silent prayer that her 12 month old daughter had been left unharmed.
“I’m on my way there now.”
*********
Jane jumped out of the car and at once ran into the house, pausing only to flash her badge to the officer on the door. When she entered she stopped to take in the scene before her, the place had been turned upside down suggesting Maura had not given in easily to whoever had broken into their home. What upset the most though was the small trail of blood that led from the entranceway further into the house.
Hearing the sounds of crying she walked into the kitchen where she spotted Korsak and her brother who had a hold of his niece. Jane moved to take her daughter from Frankie and cradled the little girl in her arms trying to settle and soothe her distress.
“How are you holding up sis?” Jane ignored the question, she was trying not to think of how terrified she felt and so instead focused her mind on what she was good at; being a cop.
“Please tell me you guys have got something.” Korsak spoke up first as he looked up between them all.
“A witness from across the street described seeing a van parked outside the house an hour before the disturbance call was made. When they came out later on they saw the same van back into your driveway before quickly speeding off. Not only that, but the two men were seen bundling Maura into that van prior to them making their getaway.”
Jane kept her focus on her daughter as Frost stepped in with his own question, “What about the men who took her, did they leave a ransom note?”
“No note and no demands so far.”
“And there won’t be any either.” All three men looked towards the woman, the look on her face unreadable.
“This is all too neat to be just some random attack for money or whatever. They would have left a note or made contact by now. Whoever planned this wanted Maura for a specific reason.”
The realization of what Jane had said dawned on both Frost and Korsak. “You think this has got something to do with Doyle?”
“I don’t doubt it and if that’s the case then we’ve got to find her, we’ve seen before what these guys will do and they won’t hang around. They’ll use anything to get to Doyle, especially family.”
The seriousness of what was going on weighed heavy on them all and they knew they didn’t have much time before something bad would happen. No one dared speak the thought aloud but they were all thinking the same thing.
“Frankie I need you to take Evie and take her somewhere safe. She’s Doyle’s granddaughter and it’s possible they might come for her if things don’t go their way. Korsak, I need you to stay here and update me on the official investigation. The lieutenant is not going to let me near this as I’m too involved so I’m going to find another way along with Frost if he’ll help me.”
Concern crept on Korsak’s face, “What are you going to do Jane?”
“I’m going to contact Doyle; news of Maura’s disappearance will have reached him by now and I’m not going to sit around and do nothing while he looks for her.” She placed a gentle kiss upon her daughter’s forehead and then handed her over to Frankie.
“Take care of her.” With that she walked out with Frost closely following behind, only stopping to grab a cell phone out of a drawer.
************
Jane waited until they had driven out of the neighborhood before pressing the button to make a call.
Frost turned to look at her from the driver’s seat, “What’s with the cell phone?”
“It’s a direct line to Doyle, he gave it to me after me and Maura got married just in case…” The phone connected after only a couple of rings and a voice soon appeared on the line.
“I’m a couple of blocks away; head towards the alley just before you reach the park.” With that, the call was disconnected.
The two detectives made their way to where directed and soon spotted Doyle and a couple of his men standing waiting for them. It was not a time of pleasantries and at that moment Jane felt nothing but anger towards the man who was no doubt the cause of her wife’s disappearance.
“For someone who supposedly keeps an eye out for his daughter you’ve done a great job so far. Where the hell were you?!”
“Detective I can assure you; that was what I was doing, it’s unfortunate that someone from inside my circle turned against me. They handed over Maura to my enemies in the hope that it would draw me out.”
Jane gazed down at the floor as she tried to hide the fear in her eyes,” and we know what happened last time someone tried to come for you, your son ended up dead. At least tell me you know who’s gunning for you this time.”
“A man by the name of Danny O’Connor, he’s trying to act out revenge for the death of his father years ago.”
Jane’s gaze remained fixed to floor as she tried to take in what had been said, Frost spoke up trying to give his partner a moment to gather herself.” If was one of your guys is responsible why not just tell O’Connor where you are, why use Dr Isles?”
This time it was Doyle’s turn to look away, the guilt he was feeling obvious in his voice. “I’m heavily armed with men around me the majority of the time. When my son was killed I stayed in the shadows, so they think by taking Maura and keeping her alive it’s the easiest and most effective way to get to me. They’re hoping I’ll offer myself up in a trade or at least track me down by luring me into the open somehow.”
Jane had turned her back on the conversation, instead trying to regain her focus on what was important. What she wasn’t expecting was Doyle’s hand to come and rest upon her shoulder.
“We’re going to find her and when we do we’ll bring her back home to her family.” She turned to look at him, the resentment she had for the man was clear.
“You better hope we do or else I’m holding you responsible. I don’t care how many armed men you have around you, nothing is going to stop me from coming after you.”
***
For 8 hours Jane waited to hear any news, Korsak and his team had found no leads on where Maura had been taken and Doyle was still running his own investigation. She had fallen into a fitful sleep on her desk at the station when she awoke at the sound of her cell phone ringing.
“Rizzoli!” The voice of Maura’s biological father filtered through and Jane gestured to Korsak and Frost who were near bye.
“We’ve found her location and are moving in now. I will send you the address when the situation has been dealt with.” Jane didn’t have the chance to argue back as the call was disconnected.
Almost forty minutes later a stream of police pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse near the docks, supposedly acting upon an anonymous tip they had received on the medical examiner’s whereabouts.
Jane caught a glimpse of a van disappearing off to her side and saw Doyle nod his head at her in recognition. She made no acknowledgement to him as she joined the others in drawing her weapon and moving into the warehouse. What they found inside were the bodies of 5 men including Danny O’Connor and an unconscious Maura Isles lying near by wrapped in a blanket.
Jane immediately rushed over to her wife, calling for the EMT’s as she did so. Making sure that she was still breathing the detective then moved to cradle Maura in her arms. A small tear escaped as she took in the battered sight of the woman she loved, Maura had obviously put up a struggle, not giving her captors the satisfaction of seeing her cower in the corner. As the medics entered and Jane was pushed aside she looked down and noticed the picture that was lying on the floor next to where Maura had been found. It was of herself and Maura with their daughter taken not long after Evelyn had been born. For the first time in hours a small smile appeared on her face.
You don’t mess with family…
**********
Pushing through the door to the room where Maura was lying, Jane found it difficult to see her usually strong wife looking so pale and frail. She was careful of all the machines and wires as she moved to place a gentle kiss upon her lovers’ temple before moving to sit in a chair at her bedside. She carefully took Maura’s hand in her own, immediately noticing how cold it was to touch.
“It’s ok baby, I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere, I promise you. Come back to me.”
The usually strong detective silently began to let her tears fall, this wasn’t supposed to happen. She was the one who would get hurt in the line of duty; it had never even crossed her mind that Maura would be in this position instead. Sitting there Jane felt so helpless; although the doctors had said that Maura would be ok, she was unwilling to believe it until she saw for herself.
******
As her consciousness awoke Maura noticed the sounds of the machines beeping around her, next came the pain and she mentally ran through the list of injuries she had possibly sustained. However she soon became interested in the feel of the soft hand covering her own, it was a touch that she would recognize anywhere. Jane…She wanted to open her eyes and make sure it was truly real but they felt too heavy, so instead she mustered what strength she had to speak…
“Jane?”
The detective hadn’t moved from her lovers’ side since she had arrived there a few hours before, the doctor had been in and suggested she went home to rest but Jane was adamant that she wasn’t going anywhere, so when she heard her name fall from familiar lips a small smile appeared on her face.
“Take it easy, I’m right here sweetheart.” Maura’s eyes flickered open and soon she was staring at the woman who up until a few hours ago she thought she would never see again. Her thoughts although hazy turned towards her daughter who she remembered had been with her at the house.
“Evie?”
“She’s fine, just missing her Mom. Let me try and get the doctor in here, to check up on you.”
Maura immediately tensed up and the grip she had on Jane’s hand suddenly became tighter.
“Don’t leave me”
Hearing her wife’s plea for her to stay broke the detective’s heart, never had she seen Maura so vulnerable and afraid.
“I’m not going anywhere sweetie, I just want to stand outside the door and see if I can get someone in here to help you.”
Maura let go of Jane but her she eyes kept focused on the woman in front of her. True to her word, the detective didn’t stray from her sight and before she knew it she was back by Maura’s side holding her hand as the doctor came in and checked everything over.
“Dr Isles, it’s good to see you awake. As I said to Detective Rizzoli previously, you suffered a severe concussion and a couple of fractured ribs. Apart from that it’s just some cuts and bruises but we just want to keep you here for 24 hours for observation. I’m going to give you something for pain and then I will be back in to check on you later.”
“Thank you.”
Once the doctor had left the room, Maura once again focused her attention back to Jane. Looking at her properly for the first time since she had awoke; Maura couldn’t help but notice the redness around the detective’s eyes.
“You’ve been crying and don’t deny it; I notice these things.”
Jane let out a small laugh, she never could get anything pass Maura without her knowing about it. She hoisted herself up onto the bed to sit next to her love.
“I was so scared; so many thoughts were going through my head about what I would do if I lost you.”
“But you didn’t lose me Jane, I’m right here.”
“I know but I could have, then what would I have done? My whole life is built around you and Evie now and if I lost you it would just fall apart.”
“Jane when we got married I promised you that I would stand steadfast at your side with your hand in mine for the rest of our lives, and I meant it. No one is going to stop me from fulfilling that promise, not even the mob.”
That brought a smile to the detective’s face as she leaned in and placed a kiss to the blonde’s forehead. “That’s the Maura I know. Everything is going to be ok, you get some rest and I’ll be right here. I love you.”
A vague ‘love you too’ was mumbled as Maura succumbed to sleep and Jane settled herself by her wife’s side to keep watch.
********************************************
“It was a year ago today, I thought I was over it and then I saw the date this morning and it all came flooding back to my mind.”
“Oh Maura…You’re human, we all have memories of things we want to forget and yet they will always linger, no matter how hard you try to make them disappear. I lose count the number of times I think about Hoyt and what he did to me or that day of the precinct shooting.”
A lone tear slipped down Maura’s face. “How do you make it go away?”
“It never goes away but what I do is try to shift my focus on all the good memories I have instead, they always outweigh any of the bad. I think about you and Evie and how much I love you both, how happy all the moments we have together make me. They are what help me get through the most difficult of times.”
Maura turned around and buried herself into Jane’s arms. Even now she still had flashbacks of what happened in the warehouse, memories of O’Connor holding a knife at her neck threatening to harm Jane and Evie. The fear she felt then still remained today, she couldn’t be sure that another one of Doyle’s enemies wouldn’t try to use her family to get to him.
“I know what you’re thinking Maura and you need to stop, anything could happen in the future, we just don’t know. Either way we’ll deal with it and get through like we always do.”
For the first time that day Maura was no longer weighed down by the memories of that painful event. As always Jane knew how to comfort her and she had done so by telling Maura exactly what she needed to hear.
“Thank you Jane.”
The detective smiled down at the woman in her arms, the day was almost over and in just a few hours the sun would rise to mark the beginning of another. Both knew it brought with it the possibility of more sadness and difficulty but they also knew they had their memories of a life together to help them get through.