I don't own Rizzoli & Isles, and derive nothing from this except personal enjoyment.

"Jane?" Maura Isles answered after two rings. "Are you all right?"

"I need a ride," Jane Rizzoli replied, without preamble or nicety.

"Where are you?"

"Um…" she reached the corner and read the street signs to Maura, then saw a bar. A drink would be a good start on forgetting all of this. "I'll be in the bar," she said.

"On" was all she heard.

Jane walked in. It was loud and noisy, not at all the atmosphere that she wanted. Her fingers were clumsy as she reached into her pocket. She had $40, and returned one bill before taking the only empty seat at the bar. A few minutes later, she downed two shots of tequila, not bothering with the accompanying ritual, and stared into the beer mug.

Her chest hurt. Her hands, again bandaged, hurt more than usual. She wished she'd been able to kill Hoyt, but she couldn't, not while he was down and defenseless. Her conscience wouldn't permit it, and she knew that later she would be glad that she wasn't like him, that all life, even one so evil, was valuable. "Get a grip, Rizzoli," she ordered herself, and looked around uneasily.

She was on her third beer when Maura appeared beside her. She touched Jane's arm cautiously. Jane glanced at her, drained the mug, and slid from the barstool.

They didn't talk on the brief walk to the car, or on the ride to Maura's home. Jane stared through the windshield, not really noticing what they passed. Maura looked at her as often as safely possible, her frown growing as Jane remained silent.

Jane didn't need to see the wreck of her apartment tonight, Maura decided, and went directly to her home. Even after the garage door closed, Jane remained still, so Maura pressed the seatbelt release.

"Come inside, Jane. I'll run you a bath and fix you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"All right. Just come inside with me."

Jane nodded and got out of the car. She waited a few seconds and followed Maura to the house. Maura put their coats on the couch for the moment, and ushered Jane through the house to the master bath. She set the taps to begin filling the tub before returning her attention to Jane.

The bandages the EMTs applied at the scene were inadequate. The one on Jane's left hand was half off all ready. Maura debated for a moment, but curiosity won out. She raised Jane's left hand and removed the bandage. Second degree burns and, "You really should be in the hospital."

Jane shook her head without saying anything and took a quick glance at her hand. It looked bad. Not as bad as Hoyt's face, and she twitched recalling that, but bad. Her right hand was just as bad, and the look on Maura's face when she uncovered the base of her throat told Jane it was bad, too.

"You should be in the hospital," Maura repeated, and pushed Jane's blazer - 'ruined' - down her shoulders and carefully removed it. She let it fall to the floor and continued to remove Jane's clothes, taking extra care at her throat and hands. She took a few moments to pin up Jane's hair, then her own.

Maura got Jane into the tub and turned off the taps. She removed her clothes and got in behind Jane. Whatever she expected to find when she walked in the bar looking for her friend wasn't this. Barry and Vince both phoned to let her know Jane was safe, but said nothing beyond that. When Jane called, Maura was pacing, debating going to Jane's apartment to wait for her.

Jane leaned back against her, and was relieved when Maura's arms went around her. She needed some quiet and to know she was safe, and Maura supplied both with her loose embrace and the gentle rub of her cheek against Jane's when Jane put her head on Maura's shoulder. "My life sucks," she muttered after a while.

"Today certainly wasn't the best of days," Maura agreed.

"They took my weapon."

"You'll get it back."

"Oh god, my apartment," Jane remembered with a groan.

"It needs some work."

"And he fucked up my hands again. What is it with him and my hands?"

"What happened?"

"Oh man," Jane groaned again. She sat, drew up her knees and dropped her head to them.

Maura's hands slid around Jane's waist, and she put her hands to work on Jane's lower back while she waited for Jane to talk. When she didn't, Maura expanded her massage up Jane's spine and across her shoulders. When she finished, Maura tugged lightly on Jane's shoulders and pulled her back to rest against her.

They stayed that way while the water cooled. Except for her breathing, Maura would have thought Jane slept. She suspected Jane was running over the night in her head, finding fault with everything she did.

"Let's get out of here," Maura said softly and released Jane, who sat forward while Maura exited the tub.

Jane started to push herself up, and yelped as she slipped back into the water because her hands refused to accept her weight. The next time, Maura helped her stand, and let Jane brace against her while she got out. She dried Jane quickly and wrapped the towel around her torso while Jane stood, eyes closed, biting her lip.

Maura dried off and put on her robe. She guided Jane to the vanity chair and had her sit before getting her medical bag and her phone. She looked at Jane's injuries again. "You should really go to the hospital."

"I hate the hospital," Jane whined. "You fix it."

"Jane, you need a specialist."

"Maura, c'mon. I don't want to deal with anything else."

Maura caved. "You'll see someone tomorrow," she said sternly.

Jane nodded.

"All right." She took a photo of each burn with her phone before setting it aside and pulled what she needed to re-bandage Jane from her bag. Neither of them said anything while Maura carefully cleaned Jane's burns and applied bandages that would remain in place until removed.

When she finished, Maura returned her medical bag to its place, and stopped to put on pajamas. She took a set of Jane's sleep clothes to the bathroom, and helped her dress.

It wasn't until Jane was asleep that the enormity of what she'd done hit Maura. She was as stunned by Jane's compliance as she was by her own actions. She hadn't asked permission, but Jane hadn't balked at all when Maura removed all of their clothes and got into the tub with her. Jane didn't fight at all, except about going to the hospital tonight.

Maura still didn't know what happened, but knew Jane would tell her in time. This case had been hard on both of them. When Maura was rattled by Hoyt's smug statement that she and he were alike, Jane said and did exactly the right thing to erase Maura's self doubt.

It seemed that lately, Jane always knew what she needed, even if Maura was unsure. It also seemed that when Jane needed something, she came to Maura first. They never talked about it, but neither seemed surprised when the other arrived, bringing exactly the right thing. Beer. Patriots sideline passes (Maura). Box seats for ballet (Jane). Dinner. Comfort, and cheer.

Maura took a deep breath and stroked Jane's hair while slowly exhaling. She had to be up early, to call in to work for both of them, and then to get Jane in to see a burn specialist. She hoped that waiting wouldn't make the treatment worse. Vince promised to call Jane's parents, and Frankie was listening to the radio chatter while he patrolled, so he knew Jane was all right. He'd seen her apartment, though.

When Maura saw it, she stared at the carnage. It was the most thoroughly trashed crime scene she'd experienced in her career. Everything, every item in Jane's home appeared to have been examined and tossed aside. She wondered whether Jane would permit her to pay for a cleaning company to go through and remove everything that couldn't be salvaged. Jane permitted more and more … liberties. Like tonight. The only way they could be more intimate was sex, a far bigger deal for Jane than Maura. Tonight, Maura saw that issue on the horizon. Tonight, Maura was glad Jane was alive. The hours they weren't sure of anything had been the most agonizing of Maura's life. Until she heard Jane's voice, Maura was a pacing ball of anxiety.

"I feel like crap," Jane murmured.

Maura moved her fingers to Jane's forehead, checking for fever. "Being kidnapped does that."

"I was so stupid. Instead of seeing you first, they distracted me with Marissa."

"Marissa," Maura repeated.

"Yeah, my downstairs neighbor. He said you told him I would ID her."

"Oh."

"No, Maura, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention." Jane sighed, an epic frown on her face.

"It's not your fault," Maura said firmly, and stroked between Jane's eyebrows with her thumb.

"All I could think was, 'nobody knows where I am this time'."

"We didn't," Maura agreed.

"He left that flare in the street, remember? And I found one, and." Jane's frown returned.

Maura waited.

"I was so scared." Jane's voice was hoarser than usual.

Maura kissed her head and continued massaging Jane's forehead.

"It hurt. Not as much as the last time, but it hurt a lot. And it hurt him." A note of satisfaction entered her voice. "I got to taze him, too."

"He's alive."

Jane sighed again. "I just couldn't, you know. I couldn't kill him."

"I wish he was dead."

"Me too."

"Thank you," Jane said a little later.

"I always have your back," Maura answered.

This time, the quiet took. Jane slept, surprisingly quietly, on Maura's chest, one bandaged hand on Maura's abdomen, the other resting on the pillow with a few strands of hair between Jane's fingers.

This time, Maura didn't indulge her brain's reiteration of all the reasons they were nothing more than friends. This time, she kissed Jane's head and synced her breathing to Jane's, and allowed herself to rest.

-30-