Title: Scarlet Letter 1/?
Fandom: Rizzoli and Isles
Pairing: Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles
Spoilers: No...not really
Rating: R to NC-17
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I'm just playing around with them for a while.
Summary: Tragedy opens Maura's eyes to her feelings for Jane.

I'm back. This one is a little different than Uprising but I think it will be interesting. I hope you all can get into it. I mean no offense to N. Hawthorne at all the title just fit. If you like what you read check out my published work, Forever Mine at L-Book ePublisher. Don't be shy. I'm a total whore for feedback.

Maura tapped the end button on her cell phone and peered down at the remaining illumination. It gave her bedroom a dim, eerie glow. It was a macabre fit for the situation. Suddenly, inky blackness surrounded her once more, and Maura could almost pretend that the past few minutes had been a nightmare. Moving like a mechanical automaton, she reached for her bedside lamp. The light it provided was almost harsh in the safety of the darkness.

She looked down at her hands as they found purchase in her lap. They shook uncontrollably. Piece by piece, Maura began noticing the signs of her body rebelling. Skin that had been pleasantly warmed by the central heating unit now felt as if it were crawling, trying to detach itself from her body. Her heart beat a staccato rhythm causing a burning within the very chest cavity it was positioned. It was then that Maura noticed she was not breathing. She attempted to take a deep breath and whimpered to find it was literally impossible.

The heavy weight of emptiness and the unknown was crushing, and the pain was decidedly physical. A hole was forming where her heart and lungs used to be and it threatened to swallow her completely.

The rational side of her brain spoke calmly to her, telling her to recognize the signs of panic and shock. Meanwhile, there was an irrational part that was literally screaming about loss and pain and begging her to react like any human would.

Jane was -.

It was a thought that Maura wasn't ready to complete.

For a few seconds, she stood outside her body wondering at the vehemence of her reaction. Others in her life had been injured even lost. The pain had never been so acute.

The screaming became louder. It was a horrid sound even encased in her own mind. It was not to be ignored. Humanity and irrationality won, and it was enough to galvanize her into action.

Jane was -.

Maura moved about the room like a tornado, destroying everything she touched. Her normally pristine chest of drawers imploded, and her closets regurgitated their contents all over hard wood floors.

The gaping maw in her chest expanded. The contents of her stomach moved around the organ slickly. The world felt tilted and askew.

Jane was -.

The tears started, and they nearly blinded Maura with their intensity. She didn't have the wherewithal to wipe them away. With still trembling hands, she pulled on a parka to protect from the bitter cold and to keep herself from flying apart.

Still, it was too late. She was fragmented, splintered. "Oh, God," she sobbed. "Jane's been shot."

Robert Pearson watched the red blip on the heart monitor as it moved up and down. The beeping that followed it was like music to his ears. He then turned minutely to watch the slow rise and fall of Jane Rizzoli's chest. Relief unlike any he'd ever known flooded him, and he knew the people who huddled on the other side of the hospital bed felt the same. Angela Rizzoli was flanked on both sides by the men in her life, providing her comfort and solace and drawing it from each other. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. They felt gritty and swollen. Understanding radiated from the dark gazes directed at him. For the first time in the six months he and Jane had been dating, Robert felt like he belonged. Family only...it was a term the doctor stressed, and he ended up with prime seating.

He reached out for a hand encased in white tape and lined with IV tubes, holding it gently within his own. Robert almost smiled. Any other time, the gesture would have drawn her ire and seen as weakness. Jane detested weakness.

He peered down at the bedridden form. Still other tubes started at her nose and disappeared to parts unknown to him. They seemed to swallow her. Naturally tanned skin was sallow and pale. Jane looked tiny and helpless whereas she usually stood tall and ready to take on the world with a bold fierceness that often burned him with its brightness. Robert felt contrite and guilty as he realized he liked her much better as a regular woman not the larger than life persona that often presented itself. He washed the thought from his brain and replaced it with she's alive.

It seemed like forever ago since Jane had returned from surgery, and Robert waited with baited breath to see luminous brown eyes open and smile at him. As if getting his wish, he stood expectantly and watched as eyelids opened slowly. He wanted to be the first thing she saw.

Robert could see that her gaze was unfocused and glassy. "Jane?" He said excitedly.

Dry, split lips parted on a groan. Then, they pursed as words formed. He glanced up to see the rest of the Rizzoli clan leaning forward. Hope shined on their faces.

"Maura." Jane's tone was deep, gravely, but the word was unmistakable.

Robert's forehead crinkled in consternation. He knew the woman was a good friend, and that had been the reasoning behind the Rizzoli's notifying her as well as her others on the police force, but they were not family. He assumed that was why the Rizzoli's caved so easily when he suggested that they wait until Jane was out of surgery to notify others. For a few seconds, Robert was speechless.

"Janie… baby?" Angela Rizzoli filled the silence.

"Ma?" Jane's head turned gradually as if even a simple action was painful.

"We're all here. Maura's on her way."

"Kay…Frankie?"

Frank Rizzoli Jr. leaned down as his sister addressed him. "Yeah, sis?"

"D-did they get him?"

"Oh yeah, got that bastard good. You left them a big chunk to finish off." He answered.

"Teach me to go out for beer at eleven o'clock at night, huh?"

The Rizzoli's chuckled.

"Teach that guy not to fuck with a Rizzoli." Frankie added.

Irritation flowed through Robert in waves. He didn't like the feeling of invisibility. He cleared his throat. Three sets of eyes glanced at him.

"Bob's here too, sweetie." Frank Sr. added.

Robert cringed. He hated that derivation of his name, and he was fairly sure the senior Rizzoli was aware of this. He chased the negativity away and smiled when pain filled eyes finally looked his way. "Hey you."

"Hey." Jane muttered and attempted a tremulous smile before her eyes closed again.

Clenching his jaw, Robert continued to smile despite the disappointment that barreled through him. She's alive. He kept telling himself.

Maura was not sure how she made it to Boston Medical unscathed. She didn't recall stopping at any traffic lights or yielding to any right of ways. Her body worked on auto pilot, and her mind had been blissfully quiet in its attempt to rationalize the entire situation.

Running on adrenaline, Maura scurried out of her car. Minuscule amounts of snow and ice crunched under her feet. She burst through the hospital doors and ignored the hustle and bustle around her as she followed the arrows that pointed toward the ICU. Maura was frantic in her search. People milled about looking for their own destinations. Some of them parted to let her pass while others Maura simply walked through.

No one else mattered.

Maura rounded the corner to her destination. Before she could get to the nurses' station, he name was whispered loudly. She ignored it.

"Maura!"

The voice sounded familiar but seemed so very far away.

"Dr. Isles."

A warm hand wrapped around her upper arm. Finally, Maura turned at the intrusion. Korsak stared back at her. He was drawn haggard and accompanied by Frost.

Maura blinked at him.

Her name was said again much louder, and it was followed by a hard shake. Maura's head snapped back with the force of it.

"Maura, she's fine. Do you hear me? She's fine."

Maura blinked again and shook her head to clear it. She glanced from Korsak to Frost and back again.

"She's just got out of surgery not too long ago," Frost added.

"I-I don't understand. Why—" Maura sank into a hard plastic waiting room chair. Her voice was thick and hoarse. "Why didn't anyone call me when it happened?"

Two sets of eyes fell to the floor.

"Don't know, I guess we got the call when you did. We just got here about ten minutes ago," Frost answered. He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "We finished up pretty late tonight. From what I understand, she got home and went to the corner store. Some whacked out crack head came in right after her trying to rob the place. Jane took him down hard." Frost paused as he sat down heavily beside Maura. "They wrestled with the gun and he got her in the gut. Somehow, she got back up identified herself as a detective. The kid behind the counter threw her a gun. She got the stupid fuck shit in the back on his way out, but he was so hopped up that he just kept on running. Some beat cops on duty took him out a few blocks down when he waved the gun at them too."

Korsak took up residence in the chair on the other side of Maura. "That's about the long and short of it."

Maura took in every word, turning the reality of it over in her head. Emotion flooded her already overwhelmed body.

Jane was all right.

She wanted to believe the words, but only hard evidence would fill and heal what had been ripped open. "Have either of you been in to see her?"

Frost shook his head, "No, family only."

"Are the Rizzoli's-?" Maura started to ask.

"They're in there along with some guy-tall, blonde hair."

"Robert," Maura muttered.

"Who?" Korsak asked.

"The man she's been dating."

Bushy salt and pepper eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "Oh… I see. She knows how to play it close to the chest if she wants to."

Frost nodded. "That she does."

"Did you ask Angela or Frank for permission?" Maura was confused.

Korsak scratched at his stubble-laden jaw. "Nah, that Robert guy gave us a report. We didn't even get to speak with them except for the phone call."

"We're family too. It doesn't make sense I don't think the Rizzoli's would do this." Frustrated and suddenly hot, Maura took off the coat and left it bunched behind her.

Korsak put a hand on her shoulder. "Their daughter's been shot. I'm sure they're not thinking straight."

"I-I need to see her."

"I know the feeling doc, but it looks like—"

Frustration turned to anger and irritation. Maura shifted away from his touch. There was no comfort he could offer. "No, no you don't know the feeling. She's all I have…my family. I need to see her."

Without another word, Maura stood up and left the waiting room, ignoring the eyes that followed her. Lashing out at them was not the answer, but at the moment, they were just in the way. Maura ambled through the hallway as a myriad of ideas suffused her. Some were feasible and some were not. As she passed a supply closet, feasibility went up a notch.

The door that should have been locked was slightly ajar. Maura scanned the area before ducking in. A few minutes later she emerged clothed in green scrubs and a surgeon's cap. The clothes she left behind were on no consequence.

Maura disregarded her name being called as she breezed past the waiting area on her way to the nurse's station. Immersing herself in the role, she scanned the board, listing an array of patients until she saw the name she was looking for.

The doctor in her reared its head. Maura reached for the chart. A two foot section of Jane's small intestines had been removed. She sighed inwardly, knowing that the probability of complications down the line were slim.

The nurse behind the desk nodded in her direction but continued to talk on the phone.

Not hesitating for a moment, Maura headed for her destination in a brisk walk. Her heart pounded in a strange combination of fear and anticipation as she neared. She pushed the door open.

The feeling of intrusion was overwhelming as Maura observed the crush of bodies surrounding Jane. Determined, the feeling passed quickly. She marched toward the scene with purpose.

Angela Rizzoli was the first to detect her presence. "Maura!"

Maura was suddenly engulfed in a hug. Within seconds, she was surrounded by Rizzoli's.

Frank Sr. wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "Janie's a tough broad. Kinda like in that show…what was it? Cagney and Lacey." His expression was thoughtful but tired.

Maura laughed but it quickly turned to a sob. Eyes turned to her in shock but understanding. Maura knew it was the most emotion they had ever seen her display. She nodded and wiped at her eyes.

"She woke up asking for you," Frankie announced.

"She did?" Maura was surprised but relief settled deeply within her. It was a feeling she would dissect later.

Frankie nodded.

Maura was suddenly aware of another set of eyes on her. She glanced upward to see Robert, holding Jane's hand and peering at her with utter resentment. Taken aback, he blinked and it was gone. At the moment, there were more important things. Maura's gaze found the most important sight of all.

The world that seemed to teeter before her not too long ago righted itself. Maura moved forward slowly. With each step, a piece of her returned. She reached out, touching Jane's sheet covered foot. It was teeming with warmth, and to Maura it meant life. It's real. She's okay.

She ambled up the opposite side of the bed. Maura watched as Jane's chest expanded and retracted with each breath. It took a few seconds for Maura to realize that subsequently, she had patterned her own breathing to fit Jane's. Her eyes raked hungrily over Jane's face, checking and memorizing every feature as if she had not seen them a million times before. Wisps of dark hair flopped over Jane's forehead and cheeks. Maura reached out, brushing the tendrils away. Needing the connection, Maura's fingertips trailed over soft skin.

Jane's eyelids fluttered and lifted slowly as if they weighed a ton. Maura waited for brown eyes to focus. When they did, Maura's breath caught and her smile nearly split her face in two. The world around them disappeared.

"Jane." Maura's voice broke.

"H-hey."

"Jane," Maura repeated reverently.

"Can…you write me script…" Jane swallowed. "… for what they're giving me? Good drugs."

The room went silent just before it burst with laughter.

Maura sighed and shook her head. She is very okay. "Jane," her tone was affectionately exasperated.

Jane's smirk was shaky but it was still there.

A throat cleared loudly, bringing everyone's attention to the culprit.

Jane turned, and Maura could read the surprise on her face. "Rob. Didn't know you were here." She rasped.

Maura noted curiously that the smile Robert radiated didn't reach his eyes. "Been here the whole time. Holding your hand. We talked earlier. Remember?"

"Sorry…no."

He brought Jane's hand to his lips. "It's okay. Just know that I'm right here. Your parents called me first. I got here as soon as I could."

Maura bristled slightly as she wondered exactly what he was insinuating. Discreetly, she observed him. This was only their third meeting in spite of the circumstance. He was a perfect male specimen physically, but since their initial introduction there had been something -

Maura glanced at the Rizzoli's. They looked away from the display of affection, glancing at the floor and each other in an uncomfortable silence.

"Maura, I would have called earlier, but I just wasn't thinking straight, and Robert said—" Angela Rizzoli blurted.

"It's okay, Mrs. Rizzoli." Maura smiled at the pointed look aimed her way. "Sorry, Angela. Korsak said as much."

A hand flew to Angela's mouth. "God, I forgot about them. I'm sure they want to see her."

"Mrs. Rizzoli? I don't think that would be a good—" Robert added.

"I'll go get them." Maura interrupted. What on earth is wrong with this man?

"But I'm sure the hospital frowns on that many visitors in one room." Robert continued.

"What are they gonna do. Kick us out?" Frankie snorted. "You stay here." He pointed at Maura. "I'll go get them."

Maura's attention returned to where it needed to be only to find Jane asleep again.

Unidentifiable emotions swirled within her. This alone confounded Maura. Her reverie was interrupted by the hulking presence that seemed to loom. Not to mention the top of her head was on fire. Maura met the gaze burning into her. His expression was one of challenge. She canted her head to the side and peered at him quizzically, curiously.

"Maura." He said in greeting. His voice was hard like flint.

The tension between them was thick and stew like in its consistency, but it was of his own creation.

Maura continued to stare at him trying to decipher the conundrum. Giving up for the moment, Maura's lips lifted at the corners offering him a grin. There was no reason she could think of not to be civil. "Robert or do you prefer Bob?"

Maura was puzzled by the muffled laugh behind her. It sounded suspiciously like Frank Sr.

"I prefer Robert or Rob." He growled.

"Ah, I see." Maura reached across the bed, offering her hand.

It seemed to hang there for an eternity before he engulfed her hand with his own.

"Nice to see you…again." Robert mumbled with a forced smile.

Maura could feel her forehead wrinkle. What is wrong here? She ended the mockery of a handshake. She stepped away and met the gazes of the Rizzoli's, knowing that their expressions were just as perplexed as her own.