All-right! This is a one-shot I wrote in several pieces, taking place after 2x10. Standard disclaimers apply. Hope you enjoy it!

During a break in the mindless comedy show she'd been watching, Jane finally takes a look at the clock. It's almost three in the morning.

The party had ended about two hours before, and after ushering everyone off and cleaning up, she'd found herself staring at the wall, unwilling to contemplate going to bed.

She told herself she wasn't tired, but really, she knew the truth.

There were things on the edge of her mind, thoughts and realizations and memories that she tried to keep there – on the edge, away from having to think about them.

We both nearly died tonight. Hoyt only kills couples.

Maura's terrified face swims before her eyes.

They'd come so close to dying. Their lives could've been ended right there, by the hands of two crazy, fucking insane men, if Korsak and Frost hadn't come in. They owed their lives to them. Again.

She cannot possibly go to sleep. Her mind is spinning in circles, moving so fast that she feels dizzy. She knows that, if she succumbs to sleep, she'll soon wake up again.

She sees Maura again, terrified, crying. She's only seen Maura cry a few times; the last one was during the whole affair with Ian, the miracle worker annex thief, and she'd hated it then. She'd hated the fact that a man could make Maura, the strong, willful, independent doctor Maura Isles cry. Hated the fact that her friend was hurting so much.

But this, this was so much worse. Tonight, it had been their lives on the line, not a broken heart. They could've died in there.

She's been in death situations before, but somehow, the realization has never wounded her so much. Maybe because this time, it hadn't just been her life, but her best friend's, too.

Hoyt only kills couples.

There's that thought again, that undeniable fact that she really wishes she could forget. She doesn't want to think about the implications, doesn't want their relationship to change because of one fact.

She's not even sure what it means.

She doesn't feel that way about Maura – she is fairly certain about that. She loves Maura as her friend, her best friend, but nothing more than that. She has entertained a few … un-friendly thoughts, when she was down and unsure, but she just didn't feel that way.

But they're best friends. They comfort each other, make each other laugh; they complement each other. She can see how others might see their relationship – she's heard a few rumours, too.

She stares at the wall, her arms around her knees in a way that normally she'd scoff at, but she just feels comfortable now. Comfortable, and very tired.

She doesn't want to go to sleep – doesn't want to face the nightmares again, this time undoubtedly even worse because her deepest fears had almost come true. She doesn't want to deal with them again – but somehow, she falls asleep anyway.

Maura's terrified eyes looking at her, pleading with her. Save me.

A nameless, faceless man is holding her down and she kicks and fights, but he's strong, almost inhumanly so. She cannot get him off her, and watches helplessly as his companion advances towards Maura. Everything happens without sound, and it only heightens her fear.

She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. She's paralyzed and can only watch as the man strikes Maura, his touch leaving a dark spot on Maura's cheek. Tears are flowing down Maura's cheeks, but she makes no sound, doesn't open her mouth. She looks terrified, but there is a determination in her eyes that tells Jane Maura is going to pull through.

Then the man unzips his pants and everything changes.

Maura's eyes widen and Jane knows that this is one of Maura's biggest fears, knows that Maura will not get over this, and everything is so much worse now. Blood appears on the floor and Jane still can't move, her hands and feet bound together, the other man suddenly disappeared. She has a full view of Maura and desperately wants to close her eyes, but she knows she can't. Maura is sobbing now as sound filters through and she hears cries and tears and so much pain – so much pain…

She gasps and the sound, the other sound, serves to wake her up. Her elbows dig painfully in the couch seat as she struggles to sit, wildly, looking for Maura.

Finally, reality sinks in and she heaves a large, frustrated sigh that sounds more like a sob. Damn it. It made no sense – Hoyt is dead, the fear that she had experiences knowing he was out there should be dead, too.

But she can't shake it off.

Somewhere out there, there is somebody just as willing, just as able, to hurt her. There's somebody who'd hurt her family and friends, and tonight, she cannot stop thinking about that unknown person.

She knows it's only a matter of time before the next personal case comes her way, the next deranged person trying to get to her or someone close to her. There could be somebody right now, waiting like, stalking them like prey.

And she realizes she cannot idly sit and wait for it to happen.

She is out of the door before she even realizes it, her mind on autopilot. Thankfully, she only has to drive a short while before she's reached her goal.

Then she stops and thinks about what she's doing – at three in the morning. Any other day and she's probably turn right back. But tonight, she knows that Maura is awake as well in that dark house, perhaps staring at walls as well, perhaps trying to distract herself from certain thoughts trying to penetrate her mind.

She knocks on the door and when there is no reply, she is worried she is waking Maura up after all; but when the door finally opens, she takes one look at her friend and sees that's not the case. Maura seems wide awake, although she looks quite weary.

" I just, uh…" she trails off, unsure of what to say. How can she logically explain her presence?

But for once, Dr Maura Isles does not require logic. She merely steps aside and Jane takes the unspoken invitation and enters the apartment, taking in the mute TV and empty glass of wine on the coffee table.

"Couldn't sleep?" Maura inquires softly behind her.

"Not the only one, I see," she replies, pointing at the wine.

Maura moves to stand beside her. "So why did you come here?"

How could she tell her friend that she knew she wouldn't get any sleep unless she could see for herself that Maura was alive? She cannot put the feelings into words, so instead, she just shrugs. "I just did."

It seems enough for Maura. "I was just about to go to bed," she tells her. "Do you want to join me?"

Jane freezes for just a moment, wondering… But then she realizes she knows Maura, and there is no way that she meant that question in the way people often mean it. Besides, she's too tired to worry about it – she thinks that seeing Maura again has stopped her adrenalin from flowing, and she suddenly feels exhausted.

"Sure," she says, then walks to Maura's bedroom without looking back. She's brought no sleeping clothes, but she cannot bring herself to care as she pulls back the blanket on the left side of the bed (she knows Maura prefers the right side) and lies down. Maura enters the room a few moments later and pulls on her pajamas without leaving the room. Jane watches her unabashedly, not out of sexual interest but more out of exhaustion. The lines of Maura's body are comforting, somehow. It's not the first time they've shared a bed, or undressed in front of each other; Maura is entirely comfortable with her body and Jane… Jane just follows suit.

When she's done with her pajamas, she steps into bed as well and lies beside Jane, staring up at the ceiling.

"Nightmare?" she asks, still looking at the ceiling.

"Yup," she replies, popping the 'p'.

And just like that, she is calm. She will see what tomorrow brings; plenty of new murderers, undoubtedly, people going after her or her loved ones.

But what's the use of worrying about it today?

With that thought, she falls asleep. In the morning, when she'll wake up, she'll find that they've somehow gravitated towards each other and are lying together quite intimately. She'll wonder what it means and maybe she'll start thinking those 'what ifs' again. Tomorrow, it's a whole new day.

But tonight, she sleeps.

Ending is sort of abrupt, because I didn't feel like writing anymore XD.

Reviews would be very much appreciated, as always!