A/N: A major issue I had with the film this is based on is that the ending was a little too dramatic. Maybe even forced if you want to go in that direction, but I've chosen to follow it anyway purely for entertainment purposes. I tried to soften it a little, but what can you do? I hope that's cool with you guys.

I've decided to leave it here without an epilogue. Sorry.

b

New Mexico

.

Jane went to the address on the piece of paper two days after she'd lost Maura.

Frankie was right. It was just a bunch of equipment sitting around waiting from someone to claim it, lawful or not. It didn't matter, but even if it did, it meant nothing to Jane. So they screw up. So she gets locked up again. So what?

The time she spent at Dan's no longer involved alcohol, but instead just the atmosphere. She didn't go to drink or play pool. No, she went to get away from the silence waiting for her in her trailer. Not once had she tried to talk to Maura. She knew what Maura needed was more than she could ever offer. She needed her husband. Her doctor. Not some ex-con about to risk going right back in. Maura deserved better.

Today, Korsak happened to be waiting in the seat beside her usual. "The thing is, Rizzoli. You come in here, and there's always some sort of trouble."

"Is that what you hear?"

"Not three nights ago you were in here doing your little MMA-style tango with your brothers."

"They showed up, I left. We didn't associate."

"Jane, this ain't a goddamn drill, okay? You went and got yourself fired, you're hanging out with known felons and now Frankie is looking to bust your ass."

"Korsak, look, can you..."

Jane felt that familiar swirling in the back of her head, and it almost excited her until she heard Maura's scream, followed by some invisible force that knocked her off her bar stool, and onto the filthy ground.

"No! No, please no!"

Korsak looked down at her, "What's wrong with you, Rizzoli?"

"Please no!"

Jane could see men dragging Maura by her arms down a hall way, and in short intervals she caught glimpses of a man she recognized from Ian's fundraiser weeks ago. The doctor Maura had feared.

She could feel Maura's terror so acutely, it nearly broke her.

"Jane! Please! Jane!" Maura cried as the men shoved her into a small room. The door slammed shut tight, leaving Maura trapped somewhere Jane couldn't see.

"Jane! Jane!"

Korsak and Dan pulled her to her feet and brushed her off, "What the hell's wrong with you."

"Those bastards," she yelled.

"Who, your brothers?"

"You know what I'm looking at right now? A cell."

Korsak leaned forward, "Hey, you tell me what's going on with your brothers, you won't even have to think about that. I'll make sure of it."

"No, I mean I'm looking at it right now. She's in it. I'm in it."

"What?"

"This is how they see me, so this is where they put me."

Korsak shook his head, "So this is the part where you start blaming the whole world for all your crap?"

"No," Jane handed Dan a few bills for her tab, "this is where I stop."

.

.

Massachusetts

.

Ian sat on her bed, spouting out well-wishes and reassurances. He was letting her know, he'd be with her through it all. Again. But she knew the truth.

"I want you to get better. To stop... worrying about everything. Everything's gonna be fine. You just need to be alone for a while. No distractions 'til you feel yourself again." He pressed a warm hand against her back. "Maura, I love you."

The door locked shut behind him, and she threw her pillow at it. He trapped her in here. And that was absolutely unforgivable.

.

.

New Mexico

.

Jane sold her truck at the local used car dealership and took as much as they'd give her. She didn't care. As long as it was enough to get out. She counted the bills as she walked down the road, cursing herself as she heard a familiar broken muffler.

"Fuck."

She didn't have enough time to react before Tommy clubbed her in the back of the head, knocking her to her hands and knees, "It's Thursday, sis."

"Time to go to work, Janie," Frankie yelled over the top of his car.

"I gotta be somewhere," she said as Tommy yanked her back to her feet. She didn't have time for this.

"Two hours, then comfortable living, sis. It's a good deal," Frankie said as she approached the car.

She held her hands up in front of her, a non-aggressive gesture. "I need to be somewhere, Frankie, I'm asking."

"And I'm answering."

Tommy pushed her into the side of the car. They wouldn't let her go. They would never let her go. Not after this one. Or the next. She didn't need this life. She had one waiting for her. Waiting for her to come save her.

"Get in the car, Janie," Tommy growled. "You know I'm not afraid to h-"

She slammed her elbow back into his face, so unbelievably tired of everything they seemed to thrive on. This would end today.

Frankie circled around, but she had the upper-hand, as well as a jaw-shattering left-hook. Both of them started to get to their feet, but Jane was already speeding away, leaving both her brothers in the dust.

.

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Massachusetts

"We'll worry about forms later. None of your people will even know she was here," Dr. Pike explained to Ian. He was a good friend. "I'm betting she'll be back to normal in just a couple of months." He held up finger quotes around "normal," signifying he knew the truth, but would push no further.

"Maybe."

..

.

New Mexico

.

She dumped Frankie's car at a bus stop, jumping on the first bus that came around. It was only a matter of time before Korsak caught on to what was happening.

By the time he found the bus stop, she was already in the air. He'd miss her at every stop. She made sure of it. Nothing was going to stop her. Not today or tomorrow or how ever long it would take.

She was going to find Maura.

.

"Maura?" she asked, looking out into the inky blackness outside her window. "Maur? Can you hear me?"

She could feel Maura stirring. Moving.

"C'mon Maura, answer me."

"Jane?"

"Jesus christ!" she leaned back against her seat for a moment before springing forward, "Maura what is going on?"

"Ian put me in here. I think he thinks I'm having an affair," Maura said, sounding timid and scared. So unlike the Maura she'd come to know. The one she'd grown to love.

Anger flared in Jane's chest. "So he locks you up? Can he do that?"

"I don't know." Maura buried her face in her pillow and pulled her blanket over her had. "I'm afraid of him now, Jane. I don't know what he's going to do."

"God, you... you feel like you're underwater. What are they giving you?"

"Ian gave me these pills. I took them. He told me to take them, so I took them." Maura sat up, clearly disoriented.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Yes, I'm in the uhm... I think it's the uhm... Hophauer Clinic... It's a mental institution, Jane."

"Your husband oughtta be a permanent patient, Maur."

The flight attendant announced it was time to fasten seat belts, and Maura sat up straighter, "Are you on a plane?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm headed your way." Jane could feel the relief flooding back and forth between them in waves. "I need to see your room, okay? I want you to look around. I wanna see everything."

Maura looked around the room, and Jane's heart sank. Ian had her in a prison.

.

When she landed, she ducked out of the airport, knowing it would be impossible to pick up a rental car without her name setting off a bunch of red flags in the system. She'd told Maura not to take anything they gave her. To hide it under her tongue if it came to it. She didn't needs those drugs. All they did was turn her into what Ian wanted her to be. Controlled.

"Where are you?"

"Still at the airport.

"What are you doing?"

Jane looked around spotting a man unloading his trunk. As much as her newly developed moral compass was screaming at her not to, she didn't have much of a choice. "I'm renting a car, Maur."

She slipped into the driver's seat, and sped off just as the man had grabbed the last of his bags.

.

.

Massachusetts

Maura

.

Maura Isles was picking a lock with a fork. Something she never dreamed of in a million years, but there she was, kneeling in front of the door, following Jane's instructions.

"Now twist to the left... Slowly. Okay, now see if you can find the empty space in there."

Maura let go with one hand and shook it as a release for the despair growing inside of her. "I can't to this."

"You can do it. Just relax. It's not Fort Knox, these are simple locks."

Maura looked out at the road in front of Jane, "Turn here... Where did you learn to do this?"

"School, mostly."

"I always wondered what you guys did in shop."

"I betcha took ballet, didn't you? Or tea appreciation or something."

"I took ballet, yes, and fencing."

"Ooh, fenc-"

The lock gave and the door popped open. "I did it, oh my god, Jane!"

"Damn Maur, that took me a week to learn. You're a natural born criminal."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

She could feel Jane's smile. "Am I close?"

Maura focused on the path ahead of Jane's car, "Uhm, yeah. Just keep going all the way through town. It's right by the train tracks, you can't miss it."

"I'll find it. Time to get a move on. Is the hall empty?"

"Check."

"Nervous?"

"Check."

Listen, when you get out of there... you ever seen Canada?"

Maura heart clenched in her chest. This was all happening. It was all really happening. "Why? What did you have in mind?"

"I thought maybe we could be happy there. Away from all this. From my brothers. From Ian..."

"From everything."

"Go for it. Just walk like you know where you're going."

Maura nodded, and pushed out the door. It was time to be brave.

.

.

Massachusetts

Jane

.

She could hear the sirens clear as day now. It was amazing how fast they'd found her. She pulled into a self-storage lot, looking around for some outlet.

"Do you have any idea where I am?"

"No, get back on Main Street."

"That is not a good idea," she said, glancing down the row, checking for the cop she knew was hiding somewhere in there. She looked back in front of her, just in time to catch him pull out of the next one.

The loudspeaker crackled, "Turn off the engine and show me your hands!"

Trapped on one side, the only logical answer is to

bolt in the other direction.

.

.

Massachusetts

Maura

.

She moved through the cafeteria, dodging the staff by joining the nearest group of patients. Having her in here was a waste of resources. Ian knew that. Dr. Pike knew that. The both of them deserved to lose their jobs. This wasn't medicine.

This was imprisonment.

She grabbed a jacket off the coat rack in the corner, hoping it would distract from the obvious, tan patient uniform.

She knew the exit was just beyond the next room. It was all within her reach.

.

.

Massachusetts

Jane

.

Unable to shake the two cruisers chasing her, Jane pulled off the main road, thanking all kinds of saints she happened to speed off into a scrap yard. Cars lined as far as the eye was willing to see in this blinding white snowscape.

Their cars obviously not made for anything off-road, let alone muddy, slipped along, making the chase unbelievably nerve wracking. But my some miracle, Jane's car caught wind, giving her a split second to park among the many rows of run-down cars, as the two cops passed by her a moment later, overlooking her car completely.

.

Massachusetts

Maura

.

Maura left the cafeteria, gaining confidence in her escape with each step. Just one short hall, one lobby, and-

Ian.

She stopped dead in her tracks and pushed herself against the side of the hall. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Jane, I can't talk to him. I can't!"

"Maura, calm down. You can do this."

She took in the deepest breath she could handle, "Okay... Okay. I'm just going to walk right past him... It'll be fine."

Maura squared her shoulders, hallway-convinced she could do this. But that's all she needed. She peeled herself off the wall, and headed straight for the exit.

But Ian looked up.

"Maura?"

Unable to think of anything logical to say, she did the only thing she could think to do. Her hands shot out in front of her, half fists, half something else entirely, but one of them connected awkwardly with his throat hard enough to make him choke just long enough for her to get away.

"I told you I couldn't talk to him," she said as she ran with all her might towards the door.

"Go, Maura. Just go. Hurry."

.

.

Massachusetts

Jane

.

She abandoned the car long before the cops realized they'd been chasing nothing but cold air and snowflakes. By the time they circled back around, she was making a mad dash for the treeline.

One that kept fusing with Maura's panicked escape from the institution.

"Breathe, Maura. C'mon. You can do this."

"Where do I go? Jane, they're going to catch me."

"No they won't. Go to the woods. The woods, go!"

Jane's lungs burned, but she couldn't stop. She would never stop.

.

.

Massachusetts

Maura

.

She could hear the train over everything. Her heavy breathing. The shouts of the personnel on her tail, the deafening crunch of the snow.

"Hear that train?"

"Yes! Yes, I do!"

"Run for it!"

Branches dug into her skin, cutting at her, and begging her to go back. To stop trying so hard for it. But she fought it. She fought everything. Her screaming muscles, her lungs, her frozen hands.

It would all be worth it.

She pushed through, nearly crying as the tracks came into view.

"I'm here."

"Where?" she didn't see her anywhere.

The train was coming, and Maura didn't see anyone. Just the forest. Just her doom.

"Here."

Maura looked up as Jane bounded through the last of the trees on the other side of the tracks. But the train had other plans. Before either one of them could cross, it cut right between them.

Panic gripped her. There wasn't enough time for the train to pass. The staff would find her and take her back there. Back to Ian. Other side of the tracks?

Other side of the world.

"There's an open boxcar," Jane shouted over the train, "see it? The red one?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, go for it!"

Maura sprinted alongside the train, ignoring her body's screaming for her to stop moving. She had to. She had to run.

But the train was too fast. She was too tired, and not strong enough to jump onto it. Her hope was fading by the second. She grabbed onto the car, unable to pull herself up, unable to keep up with its speed. Her hands were slipping. Slipping.

And then suddenly, she had a lifeline. Jane grabbed her, and lifted her inside, arms wrapping tightly around her in an immediate embrace. Maura clung to her as if her life depended on it.

Maybe it did.

But when it finally occurred to her that this was Jane. This was actually Jane. She had to pull back. To see her. To touch her face.

"It's you," she whispered.

Dark eyes held hers for just a moment, before she nodded. "It's me... This is gonna be so weird," Jane said, smiling and dipping down to catch Maura lips with her own. When they pulled back, Maura pushed into Jane's chest, thoughts of Ian fading as Hophauer faded into the distance.

They were free.