Author Notes: I've been planning on writing at least some of this story for a while and today decided to jump in and start it properly. I really want to explore Jane and Maura's relationship in this context, as well as delving into Maura a bit more, too. I will work on finishing Rewind asap so that I can put my time into this one as well as Lullaby.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles, I just play in their sandbox.

"When did it arrive?" Korsak asked, snapping on a pair of gloves.

"This morning," Maura said, handing over the letter. "I went out to get the newspaper and it was on the mat."

"Hand delivered?"

"Yes."

"Frankie," Korsak said. "Get uniform to go to Maura's and do a sweep of the front yard. Maybe they left a print nearby."

"On it," he said, slipping out of the room.

Jane rested a hand across Maura's back, and she leaned against it. The comfort of her closest friend's touch eased the worry. She knew the score. She knew the risk she took every time she agreed to take the stand. It wasn't the first threat she'd received, but it was the first one that came directly to her home. Having Jane and Korsak on the case made her feel safer.

"I gonna get ya bitch u bettr watch wat u doin cos I gonna crak u up. Stay outta my bizness or ur gonna be saying amen in hell," Korsak read aloud. "Hardly a poet, is he?"

"Can we get a car on the house?" Jane asked.

"No, Jane, there's no need," Maura said. She didn't want a fuss. Most of the threats she had received over the years were empty. There was nothing to suggest this one would be any different. All she needed was for her heart to catch up with her head.

"We've got a safe house down by the court," Korsak said. "It's probably for the best if you stay there until the trial."

"It's tomorrow afternoon. I will be fine until then."

Jane pursed her lips. "Maura."

"Jane."

"Please go to the safe house." Her voice broke in the middle. "You don't know what kind of nut job wrote this. They can't even write properly."

"Here's hoping they can't do anything else properly, either," Maura said.

Jane gritted her teeth. "I won't let you go home. If you won't stay at the safe house, you can at least stay with me."

"There's really no need," Maura said, though she still wasn't entirely convinced her mind was right. "But thank you, Jane. It would be lovely to spend the evening at your home."

x

Jane placed a towel on the end of the bed and hovered in the doorway. Maura brushed her hair, her attention focused on the mirror on the nightstand. The methodical act of running the brush through her hair calmed her somewhat. She could see Jane's reflection. The concern etched across her face. Maura had been in this situation before. She wasn't afraid of threats. Seeing how much this one affected Jane planted a seed of doubt that settled uncomfortably in her stomach. What if it wasn't just a threat?

"I'll be fine," she said, pushing the thoughts aside.

Jane leaned against the doorframe. "We're gonna do everything we can. Even if it takes us all night."

"Are you going back to BPD?"

"Korsak's expecting me."

"You shouldn't be wasting your time."

The bed sunk beside her. Maura lowered her brush down to the nightstand and turned to Jane. Her hand wrapped tightly around Maura's. She'd never seen her look so worried before.

"This isn't my first threat and it won't be my last. You know how it is with this job."

"I do," Jane said. "Which is why I'm taking this one seriously."

"Why?" Maura tugged her hand out of Jane's grasp and picked up the brush again. She didn't want to dwell on the situation. Jane's worry made it harder to ignore the incessant niggling feeling in the back of her mind.

"The last time someone made a threat against us, they carried it out."

The fire. The kidnapping. The shooting. Angela lost her boyfriend because someone wanted revenge on Jane.

But the letter bore more resemblance to the empty threats they'd both received over the years. What happened to Jane months before started with a vicious attack on her home, not with an obvious threat.

"This is different, Jane," she said. Abandoning the brush again, she reached out to Jane's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I hope so. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." She placed her hand over Maura's and stood up, allowing Maura's hand to fall back down to her side. "I'd best get back. Call me if you need me."

"I won't, but thank you."

x

Kent handed her a scalpel. Leaning over the body on the table, Maura pressed down in the centre of the chest and ran the scalpel through the skin. The first cut was the most satisfying. It was the start of a new exploration into the complex discovery of a cause of death, and she felt the giddy wave of excitement that filled her every time she began to solve a new puzzle. The lack of outside injury signaled internal injury, or something more sinister.

"What are you doing here?" Jane shouted. Maura paused, then returned to finishing off the long slice through the body. "Kent, why did you let her in here?"

"Shouldn't she be here?" he asked.

"No, she shouldn't be here," Jane said. She moved around to the other side of the body and rested her balled up fists against her hips. "Maura."

She lifted her head. "I'm working."

"You're supposed to be at the town house."

She handed the scalpel back to Kent and marched toward her office. "I feel safer in a building full of law enforcement officers, than a property not far from where the initial threat way made."

"Shall I finish up, then?" Kent asked.

"Prepare the body, I will be back shortly."

She opened the door to her office and held it wide open. She glanced at Jane, then motioned for her to enter the office ahead of her. She finally got the hint and entered the room. Maura closed the door behind them.

She pursed her lips. "I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me in the middle of an autopsy."

"I would appreciate it if you'd take this more seriously," Jane said.

"I am." She pulled her cellphone out of her scrubs pocket. "I have purchased an alert system for my phone. If anything was to happen, it would record all sound and immediately alert the police. But since I am in the police department, I don't anticipate any problems."

"We can't find who threated you, Maura. They could have done something while you were driving."

"They didn't, Jane."

"But they could."

"I'm fine."

"This time. What about next time?"

"If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can escort me to the court house personally."

"It would," she said. "What time do we need to leave?"

"I need to be there for two." Maura walked back to the door. "I need to complete this autopsy. Please don't interrupt me again, unless it's urgent."

x

A small crowd of reporters gathered outside the courthouse. Maura stepped out of the car. She ran her hands down her dress and straightened out her jacket. She still felt an element of nerves when attending court. She'd done it many times over the course of her career, yet a harsh attorney was still her biggest fear.

"You ready?" Jane asked, placing a hand on the small of her back. She nodded. They set off towards the entrance.

"I should be fine from here," Maura said.

The reporters buzzed around, a woman thrust a microphone in front of her face. Maura answered her question with a 'no comment' and attempted to move toward the building. A man blocked her way. She glanced up into his dark brown eyes, his sandy coloured hair hung loose around her cheeks. He didn't look much like a reporter. She turned back to Jane. Her hand, which had been wrapped around Maura's arm, slipped away. A couple of people pushed against her. The crowd became bigger. Maura felt adrenaline build up, her heart raced. Something wasn't right.

"Maura!" Jane shouted, but she wasn't close enough.

The group moved again, people pushed in all different directions. She wasn't sure who was a reporter and who wasn't. Maura twisted around, searching for Jane as her shouts grew quieter. When someone's hand came down on her shoulders, Maura knew something wasn't right. She fought against it. They held her steady.

"This is for Will," someone shouted.

Maura froze. Something collided with her face. A pungent smell filled the air. She closed her eyes and breathed in quickly, but her face stung and her eyes felt like they were burning. Her knees gave way. Maura dropped to the floor. She opened her eyes but it hurt too much. People trampled around her, someone's shoe smashed down on her hand. She screamed.

"Maura?"

"Jane," she shouted, curling up into a ball, tucking her throbbing fingers up close around her. "Jane."

"Everybody, back up," Jane shouted.

Her voice filled the space around Maura. The crowd of people lessened. Maura couldn't see them, but she felt the air become less suffocating. She didn't move. She didn't dare open her eyes.

"I said back up," Jane shouted. "I'm a detective. I'm not afraid to shoot anyone that doesn't get back."

A pair of hands reached around her shoulders and Maura allowed them to guide her to a seated position on the floor. She blinked a couple of times.

"Ammonia," she said, blinking again. The words caught in her throat. In front of her, the world was a blur. She could see shapes but she couldn't tell whether it was Jane, or a stationary object. She reached out in front of her and tried to speak again. She couldn't move her mouth without a searing pain running through her skin.

"Oh God, Maur," Jane said, squeezing her shoulders. Her hand collided with Jane's face.

The physical contact made it that little bit easier. There was too much noise, too much uncertainty surrounding her. Maura tried to focus on Jane, but with impaired vision, and what she expected were burns to her face, she couldn't breathe deeply enough. Then Jane pulled away and she felt alone.

"This is Detective Jane Rizzoli, I need an ambulance. We're on the front steps of Boston court house. I also need back up. There's been an incident. Where are you going? You saw this happen, you're not going anywhere. Sorry."

Maura cupped her hands in her lap. She suspected a couple of broken fingers, and a potential fracture to a bone in the back of her hand. She could feel the burns on her face. She could hear Jane's voice but she didn't know where she was, or who she was speaking to. A man nearby talked loudly to himself. She suspected he was probably on the phone.

"Water."

"I'll get you some water later, Maura," Jane said, her voice grew louder.

"No, for my face."

"Okay." She drifted away. "I need your water."

"Excuse me?" someone said.

"I'm a detective, this lady is injured. Give me your bottle of water."

"Alright, alright. Here."

"Thanks."

"Jane," Maura whispered, then coughed. She tried to breathe in slowly but between breathing in what she suspected was Ammonia, and the panic over her sudden loss of sight, Maura couldn't quite find enough air. She coughed again.

"I'm here," Jane said. Her fingers wrapped around Maura's arms.

Tears strolled down Maura's cheeks. Too late to fight back. They rolled into the burns. Maura closed her eyes and leaned her head back. The water streamed down her face, hitting her burns as it spilled over the sides of her cheeks and mixed with her tears. "It hurts."

"I know." Jane squeezed the fingers on her uninjured hand. "The ambulance is on its way."