Disclaimer: I don't won Rizzoli and Isles and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: Written for the angst_bingo prompt, gunshot wounds. Enjoy!

Maura was about to start performing an autopsy when she got the call from Frankie informing her that Jane had been shot and was on her way to the hospital. She immediately stopped what she was doing and promised to be there as soon as possible. Handing off her autopsy to a co-worker, Maura rushed out of the building and bolted to her car. Her hands were shaking so much she couldn't even put the key in the ignition at first, so she sat there for a few minutes and tried to calm herself down. Maura took a few deep breaths, which seemed to work, but her hands shook the entire trip to the hospital anyway.

When Maura arrived, she found the entire Rizzoli family, Frost, and Korsak in the waiting room. A hysterical Angela was in a chair and trying to be calmed down by Tommy with the help of a gurgling TJ. "What are her injuries?" If she just knew Jane's injuries, maybe Maura would be able to relax.

"She was shot in the chest by a suspect. We were only going to interview him, and he panicked. He was arrested at the scene. I went with Jane in the ambulance, where they lost her, but they did bring her back." Frost was trying his hardest to avoid the bloodstained hands that he hadn't had a chance to wash yet. He was too worried about his friend to even leave the room.

Maura wasn't aware that she was crying until her vision blurred. Frankie pulled her in for a hug and let her cry in his chest, just knowing what she needed. "Did they take her in for surgery to remove the bullet?" Turns out the facts and knowing Jane's injuries hadn't helped her at all – It had made the situation worse for Maura. What would she do if Jane died? They had been in too many near death experiences lately and she was absolutely tired of it.

Frankie nodded and then debated on whether or not he should tell her what he wanted to. What could it hurt, though? Maura and Jane needed a kick in their pants and he had a feeling this was it. He sighed. "Are you going to tell her how you feel when she's out of surgery?"

Maura was about to ask what he meant, but then it hit her. Beneath the panic and fear, she had been thinking about it, too. She was in love with Jane Rizzoli and she didn't want to hide it anymore. She wanted to be in a relationship with her, wanted to tell Jane how she felt. She nodded and tried to ignore her still shaking hands. "Yes, I will. She needs to know." It would hurt if Jane didn't feel the same way, but at least she'd know how she felt.

Angela joined them, having purposely eavesdropped on the conversation. "Jane feels the same way, Maura. And I want you girls to be happy, so just tell her. It will go the way you want it to." She had no doubts about that all – Jane and Maura were hopelessly in love with each other and something needed to be done about it already.

"I hope you're right." Maura didn't want to live with these feelings by herself anymore. Telling Jane how she felt, especially now, was logical. What if she didn't pull through, however, and she never got to tell her the truth? She wasn't sure she would be able to handle that. Maura lost herself in her worries and fears, and wasn't even aware when Frankie led her over to a chair.

They sat there for a few more hours until a doctor came out. Maura snapped herself out of the thoughts swirling through her head to hear what he had to say. "It was touch and go for a while, and still is. We got the bullet out, but her lung collapsed. We fixed it, but she coded on the table twice. We were able to bring her back, but Detective Rizzoli is not out of the woods yet. She's currently in recovery and we will be monitoring her closely."

Angela sighed in relief at the fact that her daughter was still alive and put her head on Frankie's shoulder. Maura bit her lip to hold back the sobs that wanted to escape. She was sick of crying. "When can we see her?" she questioned, her voice cracking.

"In a few more hours. I'd like for Detective Rizzoli to wake up so we can assess her some more, and only one visitor will be allowed in her room at the moment." The doctor smiled and then left.

Maura struggled to hold herself together and ignored Frankie, Tommy, and Frank talking to each other. Angela was beaming from ear to ear and asked her to go down to the cafeteria with her. Maura wanted to refuse, but Angela wouldn't take no for an answer. She reluctantly followed her into the elevator and down to the cafeteria.

Angela sipped her coffee and smiled at Maura. "How long have you been in love with my daughter?"

She was so shocked by the question that she nearly choked on her own coffee. "Excuse me?"

"Sweetheart, you already admitted it up there. Now, I've known for a long time, but how long have you had it figured out?" Angela was just so glad that one of the girls was finally admitting the truth. It had been driving her crazy, but Frankie had convinced her that they would figure it out on their own and didn't need her to meddle.

Maura shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure. I am in love her, but I'm not sure when my feelings began to develop. Maybe after she was shot a few years ago? I don't know. I wish I had an answer for you." She wasn't about to waste another opportunity, that much she knew. If Jane rejected her, Maura would just have to deal with it, but she didn't want to think about that. Her rational mind wouldn't let that thought go, however, and the fear was starting to creep up again. She and Angela talked for a little bit just to calm themselves down.

About twenty minutes later, Angela and Maura headed back upstairs to the emergency room to find the Rizzoli men, Frost, and Korsak playing a game. Lydia had arrived to pick up the baby while they were gone so at least they didn't have to worry about TJ at the moment.

About six hours later, Maura was so exhausted her eyes were drooping when a nurse showed up to talk to them. She was smiling. "Detective Rizzoli is awake and is asking for a Maura."

Maura stood up so fast she was dizzy, but shook it off. "That's me." She couldn't believe Jane was asking for her. She figured it'd be Angela or one of her brothers. She looked back at Angela, who gave her an encouraging smile, and then followed the nurse back.

"I am so fucking happy they'll be done dancing around each other now. Maura and Jane were driving me crazy." Frankie smiled even as Angela yelled at him for swearing.

Frost nodded his head. "It was bad. I seriously thought one of us was going to have to say something. Hopefully, Jane will be okay and all we have to deal with now is those two being all lovey dovey instead of being idiots." He had hoped his mother and future stepmother's visit would have sparked something in Jane and Maura, but it hadn't. They had remained annoyingly in denial.

Maura tried to calm herself down before the door opened and she stepped into the recovery room. They were currently looking for a room and an open bed for Jane, thus why she was still in there. She would hopefully be moved soon. Jane literally beamed when she saw Maura. "Hey you."

She beamed back. "Hi, Jane." She was a little relieved now that she had actually seen her best friend, but Maura was still terrified. Jane was pale and clearly not up to anything. She began to second guess her decision to admit her feelings.

Jane eyed her warily. "Are you okay?" Her Maura radar was pinging and something seemed off with her best friend. Maybe because she had nearly died again – Maura didn't deal with stuff like this very well at all.

She shrugged. "Yes, I'm fine. Especially now that you are up and awake. How do you feel? Are you okay?" If Maura could just keep Jane focused on her own health, maybe she wouldn't have to admit how she felt. She wanted to, but the terror of being rejected – something she normally didn't have to deal with very often – was controlling her actions.

"Well, I'm on the good drugs, so I'm okay now. But seriously, Maura, you don't look so good. Tell me what's wrong. It can't just be me. You'd be fine the minute you saw me. So please tell me what's wrong." Jane wasn't sure how she did it, but she managed to grab her best friend's hand and squeeze it.

Maura decided to just say what she felt and pushed the fear down. The simple act of Jane grabbing her hand had eased her worries just a little and that's what gave her the courage to tell her the truth. She sighed. "I love you. I'm in love with you and I have been for a long time. I nearly lost you and I don't want to experience that again without telling you how I feel. I understand if you don't feel the same way about me, but I needed you to know." She went to pull her hand out of Jane's, but the detective refused. When Maura dared to finally look at her, Jane was smiling again.

"For such a genius, you can be a real idiot sometimes. It scares me, too – And don't say you're not scared because I know you – but I feel the same way about you. I'm in love with you, so we can be scared shitless together since neither of us knows what we're doing. It sucks this happened to get us to admit to it, but it is what it is." Jane was rapidly running out of energy and wanted to go to sleep, but she was determined to kiss Maura before that happened.

Maura was so relieved she nearly started crying – this time out of happiness – again. "Thank you for saying that." As cliché as it was, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Now get down here and kiss me. Tired."

Maura laughed at her, but obliged. She leaned down and lightly kissed Jane. "We can do so much more than kissing once you're out of the hospital and recovered. Now sleep."

"Love you," Jane murmured before her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep again with a smile on her face.

Maura sniffled and wiped the tears off her face. "I love you, too." She kissed Jane again and then reluctantly left the room. She would be able to visit Jane more later, and hopefully, there wouldn't be as many interruptions.

Angela let out a squeal when she saw Maura because the look on her face told them everything. She rushed to her and gave the medical examiner a hug. "I'm so happy for you two!" She was already secretly planning a wedding – It would happen – and thinking about more grandchildren. Those were things she definitely wanted from Maura and Jane.

Jane had a long way to go before she recovered, but at least she had her family and her new girlfriend by her side. They had a lot of lost time to make up for too, but Maura refused to do anything strenuous until she was out of the hospital.

Frankie rolled his eyes when he caught them cuddling in the small hospital bed again right before Jane was discharged. They were sickeningly cute, but he was happy for them. They were still driving him crazy, though.

Maura hated that Jane had been hurt, but she was happy that they were together now. And Jane felt like shit, but she was secretly grateful that she had been shot since being with Maura was the end result. Admitting their feelings for each other hadn't changed too much between them. It wouldn't be easy to make their relationship work, but they were going to try their hardest.