The thing is, I think you needed to happen to me – Rachel Wolchin

Jane sighed heavily. The poor woman had honestly had enough, and she was sure she couldn't take anymore.

''You know what bothers me?'' She interrupted her mother's rant. ''The fact that you refuse to see any other way I could live my life other than the way you want''

''That's not true Jane!'' Angela argued, watching her daughter contour her face in disagreement as she navigated her way through traffic.

A few seconds of silence passed as Jane checked her rear view mirror to make sure Frost and Frankie were still following behind. They were; but they were much further back than they had been before – Jane couldn't be bothered to slow her pace for them.

''Casey is a nice man Jane. Perhaps if you would just give him another try things-''

''For what, the fifth time?'' Jane raised her voice. ''don't you get it? He wants to have his cake and eat it too''

''Jane-''

''No!'' She cut her mother off again. ''He wants me, but he also wants to be in Afghanistan. He can't have both. He can't keep me here as his safety net, OK!''

''But was it necessary to break things off immediately? And to move out?''

''I thought you were happy to have me living with you guys,'' she said in an attempt to divert the conversation a little. The truth is that she was really stressed out. For the past two weeks she had been living with her parents – a feat only meant for the bold and the brave. Casey had decided he wanted to return to Afghanistan and Jane was fed up of waiting each time he left. She broke off their six year relationship and moved out of their apartment deciding to live with her parents temporarily until she got her own place.

''You know I love having you over Jane. It's just that…you know. You could have…waited things out a little''

Jane angrily pushed the box of random things in her passenger seat. She had thrown in some of her smaller bits of junk from the move and had forgotten the box at Frankie's place a couple weeks ago. She could hear her mother huffing exasperatedly to herself in the back. ''What you want to say to me Ma is that I should have stayed with Casey until I met someone else. But you know that's bad advice, so even though you are thinking it, you really can't say it.'' When Angela was about to deny it Jane quickly carried on. ''I could have done that Ma. But I've really had enough of Casey. I don't love him anymore to be honest. It's not the sort of relationship I want. You know, maybe him going back to Afghanistan doesn't even really have anything to do with this. The relationship has reached its end, and even though you don't accept it, him and I both do''

Angela peered out the window, listening intently to her daughter's wise words. These were all things she hadn't even considered.

The temperatures were still pretty warm for September; this was confirmed when Jane cracked her window open just a fraction. She felt really peculiar; a feeling she couldn't put to words. She was about to say something, but found that she hadn't enough strength to form a word. The last thing she remembers is the traffic light turning green in front of her, and her mother's voice prompting her to move.

''Jane,'' Angela bellowed louder from the back seat. ''Oh God!'' she gasped as she witnessed her daughter bending over the steering wheel, looking every bit as boneless as a rag doll. ''JANE!'' she yelled helplessly as she pushed her door open with enough force to almost break it off its hinges. She used the same amount of potency to open Jane's door to turn off the car, and gasped once again at seeing the state her daughter was in. ''Jane,'' she cried once again, pushing the brunette away from the wheel so she could rest against the seat. Angela helplessly looked back to identify Frankie's car which should have been a few yards back. Relief flooded her entire body, almost bringing her to her knees when she spotted the car coming up. It was around six-thirty, not a very busy time in the residential area they were driving past on their way Angela and Frank's house. A handful of cars passed them, driving just a little bit slower to see what the woman standing in the middle of the road was doing. Angela was continuously and frantically waving Frankie and Frost over even as their car had come to a quick and sudden stop. It must have only been a minute since Jane had been unresponsive, but to Angela it felt like a right lifetime.

''Ma?'' Frankie asked as he literally jumped out of his car, Frost in tow.

''I don't know,'' Angela cried, motioning the men towards Jane.

''Jane!'' Frankie called, trying to rouse his sister as Frost came to his side.

''What's wrong with her?'' Angela was crying desperately, now that she could see Frost wildly dialling for the ambulance.

Frost and Frankie exchanged a few panicked words as they urgently dragged Jane out of the vehicle onto the road. ''Angela,'' Frost said in an authoritative voice, ''you have to take the phone.'' Without waiting for a response he handed the device over to the woman and knelt over Jane with Frankie, who had promptly started CPR. Bless him – his hands were shaking; his whole body was shaking. He was hardly in a position to perform in any way that could yield positive results.

The thing is; you can know all forms of medical emergency techniques, but sometimes when it's your sisters lifeless body you are staring at, it can become almost impossible to help. Just as Frost was about to take over a woman bent down beside Frankie. They had all been too preoccupied to notice her arrival.

...

Maura had been driving past a part of Boston she had never been to. One of her assistants was having a baby shower that she had been invited to – obligatory of course. As the Chief Autopsy Technician at Massachusetts General Hospital, it wouldn't look right if every other woman in the department was invited except for her.

Just to show face she had lingered around for a couple of hours, had half a glass of wine, presented her gift and left. They were all very nice people, it's just that Maura felt socially inadequate around them. Which was made worse by the fact that her weirdness caused others to feel weird around her as well. All in all, she preferred to just avoid such situations and let everyone else have a nice time without her unconsciously ruining it.

As she tried to navigate her way out of Sarah's neighbourhood in order to reach a familiar route she spotted slight commotion ahead of her. It was only just nearing sunset but from her vehicle she couldn't really tell what was happening. A woman was on the phone weeping into her mobile device, as two young men knelt over a body on the ground.

Could it have been an accident?

Maura scratched that thought immediately; there were no wrecked cars.

The doctor in her propelled her towards the activity in record time. Upon arrival she had tried to communicate to one of the three individuals at the scene but everyone appeared too distraught to hear her.

She wasn't a guesser, but it appeared the woman lying down had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. The younger man performing CPR didn't look to be doing an efficient job. The woman helplessly pacing around them was evidently on the phone with paramedics who were on their way.

''I'm a doctor,'' Maura announced as she directed for Frankie to move so that she could take over. She might have been a small woman, but everyone was immediately impressed by the way she powerfully started doing CPR and rescue breaths. ''What happened?'' Maura finally inquired, after she had set a rhythm she was confident with.

''She uhhhh….I don't know,'' Frankie answered, seemingly just realising that he actually has no idea what happened. ''Ma?'' He turned to his wailing mother, getting up to comfort her.

''We were just driving and she…and she just fell forward and that was it. I...I don't know what happened. Oh Lord, is she going to be OK?'' Suffice it to say, Angela was a mess.

The ambulance sirens could now be heard in the distance. ''How long has she been unconscious for?'' Maura asked them all, studiously continuing with her compressions and mouth to mouth.

''A few minutes….maybe almost three. Not very long'' Frankie nervously answered.

It didn't long before the ambulance came to an abrupt stop just to the side of the road. Three EMT's rushed out, carrying their defibrillators and various other equipment.

Once all necessary connections were made Maura stopped her chest compressions and gave way for the experts to do their job. Stood to the side, she could hear information being tossed around: She's a police officer – Jane Rizzoli – 29 years old – Sudden Cardiac Arrest – no medical conditions to be made aware off – no recent cardiac trauma – single – no children. Maura zoned out a little bit, it was all a bit too much to take in.

After the eighth shock, one of the EMT's announced victoriously, ''we have a pulse.'' Maura heard arrangements being made about taking her straight to Massachusetts General Hospital, and in that moment she was vividly aware of the fact that this woman had technically died for at least a minute or two. ''Are you the one who attended immediately to this lady?'' Maura saw the Hispanic EMT asking her. ''Yes. I mean, no. When I arrived this gentleman,'' she gestured to Frankie, ''had begun performing CPR''

''Well, you both saved her life then. Those rescue breaths, done very efficiently I must add, went a long way in preserving her life till we got here.'' He looked to everyone else. ''We'll have a full report once she's admitted into Mass Gen''

''We'll meet you there,'' Frankie said to the man as he got into the ambulance. And before anymore could be said he engulfed Maura in an unexpected embrace. ''Thank you,'' he told her. And Maura could feel him shaking with repressed sobs. ''Thank you so much.''

Caught completely unaware, Maura shyly accepted the hug and modestly said she didn't do much that they couldn't have handled without her anyways.

There's a lot that can be said about saving someone's life. Maura had never done that before – she had never literally been the reason why a person was alive. Sure she had helped deliver about three births, and had attended to numerous ailing patients. But when you think about it, those people could still have survived without her input. The same can't be said for Jane though.

Frankie's attempt at CPR had caused some cracked ribs for Jane, and in itself would not have been effective enough to preserve her life (possibly). The doctor's report had in fact confirmed Maura's suspicions; Jane had technically been dead for a minute and a half. The mouth to mouth Maura performed helped to provide Jane with enough oxygen to spare brain death till the EMT's arrived.

Jane had been lucky to survive.

And by sheer chance, Maura had just been in the right place at the right time.

''Thanks for meeting me,'' Angela said, shaking Maura's hand before sitting down.

''It's no problem really,'' The doctor sat as well. Maura had been more than surprised to receive a phone call from Frankie a couple of days ago. It had been about two and a half weeks since the incident with Jane. When they had parted ways that evening, Frost had asked for Maura's card before she had driven away. Understandably, she hadn't heard anything, given the gravity of the situation. She had not followed them to the hospital, for the simple fact that she was a stranger to them who had only offered help. She had been sure though, on several occasions, to make sure Jane was alright. ''How is your daughter doing?''

''Much better now. I don't even know how I can possibly thank you Doctor Isles.'' This was one of the reasons Maura had severed any thought of any sort of contact with these people. She couldn't deal with the constant thank you's. She couldn't deal with knowing that the Rizzoli's thought they owed her anything. And when she said it was nothing really, she couldn't deal with people thinking she was being overly modest as a form of seeking attention. Plain and simple – she couldn't handle it. She was very proud to have saved Jane's life, and that was enough for her. She didn't need to see Jane every day in order to be reminded that she had been Jane's life saver.

She had discreetly spoken to Jane's doctor in the days that the brunette had been admitted: And Maura had learned that Angela was Jane's mother and that Frankie was her bother and Frost her work partner. She had asked her, Jane's doctor, to contact her only if there ever was a problem with Jane.

''Please, don't mention it. It's really alright'' she assured Angela.

They were sat in the hospital cafeteria having lunch during Maura's break time.

''She has a pacemaker inside her. They uhhh, they said she has a slow beating heart,'' Angela began, speaking as if she was talking to a friend of many years. ''And her heart beats might have been too fast which can be caused by stress, since there were no other problems found''

''Was she under a lot of stress?'' Maura found herself answering, and then blushing profusely after realising how intrusive that might have sounded.

It made Angela smile a little. And then she quickly sobered up. ''I think she was. And it's mostly my fault.''

Maura found herself feeling deeply sorry for the woman sitting across from her. She sipped her tea, trying to buy a bit of time. She really couldn't object to what Angela said, or deny it either, she didn't know anything.

''We had been arguing when she collapsed''

Ahhh, some tangible evidence to go with it, Maura thought.

''About a month or so ago, she broke up with her boyfriend. He moved to Afghanistan and sold their apartment where she lived with him. It was all kind of short notice, so she came home to live with us while she looked for a place of her own. It had only been a few weeks living together, and I kept pestering her about why she had broken things off with Casey,'' Angela kept going on, while Maura diligently listened as if she'd be tested on all this information once Angela was finished. ''I think I drove her to drink more, and to work even more. I hated her job by the way. She did anything she could just to be away from home and my nagging mouth. Frank, my husband, he kept telling me that I would permanently drive her away one day if I kept at it. I don't know why I never used to listen.'' Angela shook her head remorsefully. ''I always thought you know, that driving her away would mean she would go and live with Frankie for a bit. Or that she would move to another state or something. And I kept thinking, oh I'll follow her there and bring her back,'' she smiled sadly at Maura, who smiled back too. ''it never occurred to me that driving her away could mean she'd die.'' Angela stopped there, she felt like she was re-living that evening all over again. Flashbacks of her daughter's lifeless body lying on the street suddenly came back to her. It was a nightmare, one she prays every day that she never has to live again. ''I'm so glad she's alright''

''I'm glad too.'' This was all Maura could say.

''I met with another doctor yesterday. They were explaining to me about the implications of all of this. That it may take a long while for all of us to deal with the effects of everything,'' she flailed her hands as means of explaining something she couldn't quite put to words. ''They said Jane might take anything between six to twelve months to fully recover emotionally and physically. And that she will have to start to deal with life with a pacemaker. And also that she may not fully be able to return to her previous life. If this affects her job she'll never forgive me Doctor Isles, never.''

Maura was taken aback. It was as if Angela was seeking absolution from her. As if there was something Maura could say to make everything better.

''It seems like everything here is all about time. You can't really know anything for sure yet.'' Maura wasn't sure if her words were helpful at all. But that's all she could come up with in that moment.

''Why is it easier to speak to a stranger sometimes? Although I'm not entirely sure I can call you a stranger,'' she quickly added the last part, staring at her untouched cup of coffee.

''I think it is safe to say that I am a stranger.''

''To me you're the angel who saved my daughter's life.'' Maura blushed again. ''its Jane's birthday next Friday. The 15th. We were thinking of just having a small get together in her room for her since it's her thirtieth.''

''Oh that sounds lovely,'' Maura said eagerly, happy for anything that resembled a lighter topic to discuss.

''I doubt she'll think so,'' Angela laughed knowingly. ''My Jane is a bit of a hard one''

''Do you suppose she won't be pleased with a get together?'' Maura wondered. The idea sounded nice enough. God knows no one had ever organised a get together (except for last year) for her since her 18th birthday. And there also wasn't any need for her to inform Angela that her birthday was that Thursday, a day before Jane's that she would be turning 31.

''A lot has changed I guess, so maybe she has changed too. Normally, she wouldn't have liked it. But I feel like it's her thirtieth you know, and with everything that's happened, there is need for a bit of a celebration don't you think?''

Maura didn't know in all honesty. The previous year she had got a card and present in the mail from her parents, as well as a few other cards from former colleagues. Ian, her ex, was the only one who called to wish her a birthday. And the pathology departed had a small lunch for her, one that Lori her assistant had arranged (for reasons Maura still couldn't comprehend).

''I would love for you to join us.'' Angela said.

Maura was caught completely off guard and took a while to respond. ''I don't want to intrude Angela''

''It's no intrusion. Jane has asked to meet you, and my husband would like to meet you as well.''

''I don't know Mrs Rizzoli. It seems more like a family get together. I could arrange another time to meet with your daughter''

''Oh stop worrying. It's Just Frost and Frankie that you met before, and my husband and I, and Korsak who they work with. There is nothing to worry about,'' she stated again.

Maura looked very sceptical. This was not her type of thing at all. It was hard enough socialising with people she knew, let alone those she didn't. And she knew she was going to get more thank you's that she knew what to do with.

''Please. We'd all love to have you there. It will only be about a couple of hours in the evening''

Angela was too sincere for Maura to be able to decline the offer, ''Alright then, I'll come. Thank you for the invitation.''

AN: Inspired by this youtube video : /HxlIAQj4IWY

This is NOT going to be angsty (or like sad or anything)

I don't like Casey so I can assure you he won't be featuring again. I'm sorry if I butchered the medical bits, I tried to do some research.

Not sure how long this will be, I'll tell you once I get a clearer picture. Will also try to do fast updates. Thanks for reading.