This is an AU fic that popped into my head a while back. Maura's married with a child, but Jane finds out that her best friend did not get a happily ever after. The M rating is for language and talks of domestic abuse. The abuse isn't described in graphic detail, but I rated it M because of the touchy subject and in case I do decide to go into more detail. Also, it will eventually be Rizzles and that might deserve an M rating as well. Not sure about either yet.

The text in italics are the characters thoughts.

Rizzoli & Isles does not belong to me. It belongs to TNT, Tess Gerritsen, and some other really talented and brilliant people.

Jane looked into the rearview mirror at the little boy in her backseat as she drove home from the Red Sox game. She noticed a troubled look on his face. He had seemed off all through the game. "Hey buddy, is everything okay? You've been pretty quite all day. Even after the Sox won," she smiled at him. "Is something bugging you?" She noticed tears starting to form in his hazel eyes so she pulled her car into the next parking lot and cut the engine. She turned around in her seat and looked the little boy straight in his eyes. "You know you can talk to me about anything Jaiden. What's wrong?"

He let out a shaky breath before saying, "its Mommy."

"What wrong with Mommy, honey? I know she called in sick to work yesterday. Is she okay?" she asked worriedly.

He started to cry as her looked into Jane's dark brown eyes. "Daddy hurt her."

"What?" she asked quickly. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't want to scare the young boy anymore than he already was. "What do you mean Daddy hurt her? You mean he hit her?" Jaiden nodded slowly. "Is that why she didn't go to work yesterday?" Another nod. "Is this the first time?" He shook his head no. "Has he ever hurt you?"

Jaiden shook his head no again and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Mommy doesn't let him."

Jane could feel her blood beginning to boil, her heart hammering in her chest. Son of a bitch. She took another deep breath then said, "I'm gonna take care of Mommy. I need to get you someplace safe first though, okay?" She started the car again and pulled out onto the street.

"Where are we going?" the young boy asked.

"I'm gonna take you to my parents' house. They will keep you safe while I take care of your mommy, okay?"

"Okay," he shakily replied.

As she drove towards her parents' house she pulled her cell phone out and called her brother.

"Hey Janie," Frankie answered cheerily.

"Hey Frankie. You working right now?" she asked.

"I just clocked out. What's up?" he replied.

"Can you meet me at Ma and Pop's?"

"Jane, is everything alright? You don't sound okay. Ma and Pop okay?"

"Ma and Pop are fine. I need your help with something. I don't want to talk about it over the phone." She looked into the rearview mirror again at the sad, scared little boy. "Can you meet me there?"

"Yeah. I'm on my way. Be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks. And make sure you're armed," she said before hanging up. She pulled into her parents' driveway, cut the engine and climbed out of the car. She went around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door the help Jaiden out. "I know you haven't met my parents, but they're really nice and will take really good care of you while I'm gone," she said as she unbuckled his seatbelt. She pulled him up into her arms and they made their way up to the front door. She walked right in and called out, "anybody home?"

"Janie, what are you doing here?" Angela said as she walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dish towel. "Who's this?"

"This is Jaiden," Jane answered holding the child close.

"Maura's little boy?" Angela inquired.

"Yeah."

"What are you guys doing here? Where's Maura?" her mother asked.

"Maura's not here. I took Jaiden to a baseball game. I need you and Pop to watch him for a little while," Jane said as Frankie walked through the front door.

"Jane," he called out. He ran into them all in the hallway. "Janie, what's going on?"

Jane looked at Jaiden whose arms were clinging tightly around her. "Hey, you wanna watch some cartoons?" she asked as they walked into the living room.

"Okay," he replied quietly.

As she walked into the living room she found Frank Sr. sitting on the couch. "Hey Pop. Do you mind if Jaiden here watches some cartoons while I talk to you, Ma and Frankie in the kitchen?" she asked as she sat Jaiden down on he couch.

"Sure," he answered as he changed the channel and rose from the couch. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded her head towards the kitchen and her father followed her out. They all walk into the kitchen.

"Jane, honey, what's wrong?" Angela asked. "You're scaring me."

"Yeah Jane. What the hell is going on?" Frankie asked. "And why do I need my gun?"

"What? Janie?"

"It's Maura. After the game Jaiden seemed upset on the drive home, so I pulled the car over to talk to him." Jane drew in a shaky breath to try and steady her voice before continuing. "He told me that his dad hurt Maura." She couldn't keep the rage from her voice. Her hands were clenched into tight fists. "He hit her and it had to have been pretty bad because she called in sick yesterday. I called to check on her and she said she had food poisoning. She sounded off, but I figured she was just exhausted and feeling like crap. I should have gone over there to check on her." She was visibly shaking she was so angry. "And I should have known something was wrong this morning when she didn't come downstairs when I pick Jaiden up."

"Jane, don't be angry with yourself. You had no idea," Angela said.

"I'm not angry with myself. I am pissed at that fucking asshole," Jane said through clenched teeth. "According to Jaiden, it's been going on for a while now. I need to get her out of there."

"Okay, let's go," Frankie replied. Jane put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him as he turned to head for the door.

"No. I need you to stay here," Jane said.

"I'm not letting you confront him on your own," Frankie almost shouted.

"I won't be. He's in New York on 'business' until tomorrow. He won't be there," she assured her family. "I need to get Maura out before he gets back."

"What do you need me to do?" Frankie asked.

"I need you to stay here and keep Jaiden safe. I may need to take Maura to the hospital depending on how bad she's hurt. If David gets back early and finds out what we're doing, he may come looking for Jaiden. He doesn't know where Ma and Pop live, but in case he finds out, I need someone that I trust keeping them all safe while I take care of Maura." Jane turned to her mother and continued. "Jaiden is terrified. Can you just keep him company? Let him know he's safe here?" she asked as tears formed in her own eyes.

"Of course we will Janie," Angela said as she placed her hand reassuringly on Jane's bicep. "Did that bastard ever hurt him?"

"Jaiden said no. Maura wouldn't let him, meaning he tried," she replied as she choked back a sob threatening to escape. She clenched her teeth and took a deep breath trying to calm herself down.

Frank, who had been silent through the whole conversation, pulled Jane into a hug. He pulled back so that Jane was at arms length and looked her straight in the eye saying, "We'll take care of your boy. You go take care of your girl."

"Thank you Pop," Jane replied giving him a small smile. It was no secret to her family that Jane was in love with Maura. She had been for a long time. She nodded for them all to follow her as she turned to return to the living room to talk to Jaiden before she left. She knelt in front of him as she spoke. "Hey buddy, this is my mom Angela, my dad Frank, and my brother Frankie," she said pointing to each in turn. "They're gonna take care of you while I go get Mommy, okay?"

"Okay," Jaiden nodded. He looked up at Frankie, who was still in uniform, and said, "Is he a detective like you?"

Jane smiled at the little blonde haired boy. "He's not a detective yet. He is the best uniformed officer on the force though. He will keep you safe. I promise." She looked up at Frankie and nodded for him to sit with Jaiden on the couch. Frankie sat next to the boy and smiled at him. "Frankie loves baseball, too. You should quiz him on all the stats you told me while we were at the game. Betcha you know more than he does."

"Is that right?" Frankie laughed. "Try me?"

"You two have fun. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said before rising to leave. As she turned to leave, Jaiden jumped up from the couch and encompassed Jane in a tight hug. She pulled him into her arms, squeezing him tight. "I love you, Jaiden. And I promise you, I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you and Mommy safe. Now I gotta go, okay?" She kissed his forehead then handed him to her mother. "I love you," she said again while rubbing his back.

"We'll take care of him Janie," Angela said to her.

"Be safe," Frank said as he walked his daughter to the front door. "You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine," she replied. "Maura won't want a whole bunch of people there. She'll want to know that Jaiden is safe with people she trusts."

"Okay. You call me if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks Pop," she said giving him a quick hug before heading to her car.

Once in her car, she started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. Ignoring practically every traffic law known to man, she sped through Boston towards Maura's house. The drive from Revere to Brookline, normally a thirty minute drive, took her only fifteen. She parked on the street outside Maura's house and climbed out of the car. His car's not here. Good. She walked up to the front door and knocked. After knocking two more times and receiving no answer, she used the key Maura had given her for emergencies to let herself in.

"Maura?" she called out as she made her way through the house. "Maura, sweetie, are you here?" After making a quick sweep of the downstairs and not finding the M.E., she ascended the stairs. As she got closer to the master bedroom, she heard quiet sobs coming from the other side of the door. She slowly opened the door and walked in. Maura was lying on the bed, facing away from the door. "Maura?" Jane said quietly.

"Jane? What are you doing here?" Maura said through choked sobs. She sat up on the bed and wiped away the tears streaming down her face. She didn't turn to face Jane though. "I thought you were taking Jaiden out for dinner after the game."

"I was going to, but he didn't feel like it. He was too upset," Jane said as she made her way around to the other side of the bed. She gasped upon laying eyes on her best friend. "Jesus Maur…what the fuck did he do to you?" she said as she knelt by the bed in front of the blonde. Maura had a deep purple bruise on her left cheekbone with deep gash in the center of it and her bottom lip was split.

"Jane, you shouldn't be here," Maura said trying to turn away from her friend.

"I'm not going anywhere Maura. Not without you," she said as she took Maura's hands in her own. She brought her hand up to Maura's chin, wanting her to look at her, but not forcing her to. "Jaiden told me what happen. He's scared Maur. I promised him I would help you. Make you both safe."

"Where is Jaiden?" Maura asked as she finally looked up at Jane. She didn't look into Jane's eyes, focusing on the detective's mouth as she spoke.

"He's with my parents," she softly whispered as her fingertips ghosted across the dark bruise on her friend's left cheek. "They are gonna keep him safe while I take care of you." Maura collapsed into the detective's arms as she began weeping again. "I wish you would have said something to me. I would have gotten you out of here a long time ago if I had known." She put her arms around the doctor protectively, letting her cry. She tightened her embrace and felt the blonde wince in pain. "Shit. I'm sorry," she said as she pulled her arms away. "I need to get you out of here before he comes back. You and Jaiden are not safe here and I can't leave knowing what I know." She rose to her feet taking Maura's hands in her own. "Can you pack a bag for yourself while I pack one for Jaiden?" Maura nodded, unable to find her voice. "Okay. After we do that, I'm taking you to the hospital to get checked out. I think that cut may need stitches. And a hug shouldn't be painful. I don't know where else you're hurt, but I need to make sure you're okay."

"Jane, I don't need to go to the hospital," Maura said weakly.

"Yes, you do Maur. I promised your son that I would take care of you. That's what I'm doing. Please?" she pleaded. "For Jaiden?"

"Fine," Maura relented as she rose from the bed to pack her bag. Jane gave a gentle squeeze to Maura's hand before releasing it to go pack a bag for Jaiden. "Jane," Maura said before Jane made it out the door. "Thank you."

"I'm always here for you Maura," Jane replied. I love you. "I'll be right back. Pack as much as you can fit in your overnight bag." She gave Maura a small smile before heading into Jaiden's room. She found his backpack and a shopping bag. She stuffed both as full as she could with the child's clothes. I should grab some of his toys too. She found the duffel bag Maura brought his toys to the park in and filled it with his favorite toys. She grabbed his laundry hamper too as she headed down to put Jaiden's things by the front door. She then went back upstairs to help Maura. "Hey," she said as she walked back into Maura's bedroom. She took the bag from the blonde's hands and said, "Let me help." Knowing her friend wouldn't feel like doing much of anything once they got to Jane's apartment, she filled the bag with Maura's loungewear, taking only two dresses to go with it. "I know they'll wrinkle like this, but we can iron them out at my place. Okay?" Jane said. Maura nodded. Jane zipped the bag closed and walked over to Maura, taking her hand. "Anything else you need before we leave? I don't want you to have to come back here. At least not until he's behind bars."

"I think that's everything," Maura replied. "Can we bring Bass?"

"Of course. I wouldn't forget the turtle," Jane teased. She smiled when she saw a small smile cross Maura's features. It wasn't the smile she used to see grace her friend's features. Maura's smile used to be so bright it could light the whole of Boston for a year. This smile was forced. It has been so long since I've seen her smile. Jane slung the bag over her shoulder and led Maura towards the door.

"Tortoise," she replied. She let Jane lead her out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the living room.

"You wait here. I'm gonna put all this in the car and then get Bass."

"Okay," Maura said as she sat on the couch.

After she loaded the bags and tortoise into her car, she returned to the living room to get Maura. "Ready?" Maura nodded while taking Jane's hand. She let Jane pull her up from the couch before Maura wrapped her arms around the lanky detective. Jane kissed the top of Maura's head. "I promise he will never touch you again. I will keep you and Jaiden safe," she whispered.

Reviews are always welcome and greatly appreciated. ;)