Chapter Text
Jane
A girl. They were having a girl. Jane still couldn't believe it. The goofy smile on Jane's face hadn't wavered since the ultrasound tech had located the baby and Jane had been able to really see their baby on the screen for the first time. During their last ultrasound, the baby had looked like a peanut in Jane's opinion – of course, earning the baby the nickname 'peanut.'
She quickly stole a glance at Maura, who was sitting in the passenger seat, before focusing back on the road. Maura was the epitome of beautiful right now. She was always beautiful in Jane's opinion, but somehow pregnancy exponentially enhanced her beauty. They were driving home from their 18-week appointment, where the doctor had confirmed that their baby was a healthy little girl.
"We're never going to agree on a name," Maura said, breaking through Jane's thoughts. Happiness was evident in her voice as she spoke, never taking her eyes off of the ultrasound pictures in her hand.
Jane laughed. Maura wasn't entirely wrong. Before they found out that their now two-and-a-half-year-old was a boy, they had discussed names for both boys and girls. They had easily agreed on a number of boys' names without finding a single girl's name that they both liked. Still, Jane had to admit that she was excited to have one of each. A boy and a girl. They'd figure out the rest.
"I can be quite convincing," Jane teased as she looked over her shoulder before changing lanes.
"So can I," Maura countered with a laugh.
"But Xander will side with me, and two beats one," Jane quipped.
Maura scrunched her face in amused displeasure; she knew Jane was right. "Well, I'm not sure a two-year-old should get a vote," Maura argued.
"Well, he's two-and-a-half," Jane replied instantly, and they both laughed because Xander would have instantly said the same thing if he had heard Maura call him two.
"We'll figure it out," Maura said confidently, her focus returning to the images in her hand. "She's beautiful," Maura said reverently, more to herself than to Jane.
"Just like her mommy," Jane said, referring to Maura.
Maura chuckled. "I can already tell she's you through-and-through," she said with a smile, reaching out to squeeze Jane's hand that was resting on the center console.
Jane shrugged, despite the fact that Maura's statement made her happy. "You don't know," she said. "Maybe she'll take after her donor and end up looking more like you."
"She still won't actually look like me," Maura said. "But I couldn't care less about that. I love that both of our kids will inherit your DNA."
Instead of responding verbally, Jane pulled their clasped hands to her lips and kissed the back of Maura's hand. She knew that what Maura was saying was true, but she still hated that she couldn't also give Maura a child that was biologically related to her.
Maura turned to look at Jane, and Jane instantly felt like her wife was trying – and probably succeeding – to read her mind. "I mean it, Jane," Maura said genuinely. "I love our children more than anything, and I would not love them more if they were biologically related to me."
"I know," Jane said without taking her eyes off the road, but before she could say more, they heard a loud bang from outside the car. Jane dropped Maura's hand, gripping the wheel with two hands as her body instinctively responded.
A tire had blown out on a car going in the opposite direction. The driver instantly lost control, and the oncoming car was headed directly for the front-passenger-side corner of the car.
Everything in Jane's training told her to swerve left to minimize the impact, but she couldn't do it. She had to protect Maura and their baby in the only way she could – she swerved right, putting herself in the direct line of the out-of-control vehicle.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jane saw Maura curl in around herself, clearly trying to protect the baby as best she could. It was the last thing she saw before car hit the driver-side rear door of their car. The impact was enough to throw their car off its axis, and the car rolled, the passenger side impacting the ground first.
Maura's scream drowned out the crunch of the metal and the sound of shattering glass. It was like a knife to Jane's heart, but it was the moment when the scream stopped that Jane's heart shattered into a million pieces.
"Maura! Maur! Maura, talk to me!" Jane yelled as the car finally came to a stop. Her voice was already hoarse from the combined physical and emotional pain as she continued to scream Maura's name with no response.
The car had stopped rolling right side up, but the frame was so bent that Jane could no longer see Maura. She couldn't move any part of her body more than an inch or two. She fought against the confines of the metal coffin, trying with all her might to reach Maura, but ultimately, her effort was in vain.
"Maura! Maura! Maur, please?!" Jane pleaded over and over again until she could no longer fight the pain, and everything went black.
Maura
The first thing that Maura became aware of was the slow steady beep of a heartrate monitor. Her brain felt fuzzy and sluggish, and it scared her more than the heaviness of her eyelids or the stiffness of her limbs.
With an enormous amount of effort, Maura forced her eyes open. She was in a hospital room, but she had no memory of why she was here or how she had ended up here. She blinked a few times in an attempt to clear her blurry vision, but it didn't help. She looked around the room. She was surrounded by machines, but otherwise she was alone. That didn't surprise her.
Maura tried to clear her throat, but it was so dry that she instantly ended up in a coughing fit. A nurse rushed into the room, quickly picking up a pitcher and filling a little cup with water before holding the cup with a straw up to Maura's mouth. Maura sucked down the liquid greedily. It felt like she hadn't had a drink in weeks, and it made her wonder how long she had been here.
"Dr. Isles, how do you feel?" the nurse asked kindly. Maura stared at the woman while she tried to formulate an answer. The nurse looked to be in her early 50s. She wore her dark brown hair in a pixie cut, and for some reason, this was the only thing Maura could focus on. She couldn't figure out how to answer the nurse's question.
"Dr. Isles, can you hear me?" the nurse said. "My name is Carol. You are in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Can you tell me how you're feeling?"
"N-no," Maura said hoarsely, her voice rough and scratchy from misuse.
The nurse chuckled kindly. "Well, the fact that you're answering is an improvement," she said. "Can you tell me your name?"
"M-maura Isles," Maura said with difficulty.
"Very good," Carol said. "How are you feeling?"
"I-I don't know," Maura replied, feeling stupid.
"That's okay. Just a bit ago, I told you where you are. Can you remember what hospital you're in?"
"No."
"That's not unusual," Carol said. "You've been unconscious for three days, and you will likely experience some post-traumatic amnesia. That's too be expected. You've appeared to wake up a few times over the last several hours, but this is the first time you have responded verbally."
Suddenly, the door to the hospital room flew open, causing Maura to jump in surprise.
"I'll let your doctor know that you're awake," Carol said before turning to smile at the woman who had just entered.
"Maur," Jane said, her voice a mixture of relief and fear. "You're awake."
Maura looked at Jane in confusion, shrinking away from her slightly. She wanted to cover herself up better, but her arms weren't fully cooperating. She hated for other people to see her in any state of vulnerability or weakness.
"How are you feeling?" Jane asked as she stopped next to Maura's bed.
"Detective," Maura said coldly. "Why are you here?" she asked. She could not understand why a woman that she barely knew was standing in her hospital room.
Jane froze, her hand stopping awkwardly between them as she reached out to grasp Maura's hand.
"Wha-what do you mean?" Jane asked cautiously. "I've been here the entire time. I only stepped out to call Xander."
Maura had no idea what or whom the other woman was talking about. Her eyes scanned up and down Jane, taking in the extensive bruising and cuts covering every inch of exposed skin.
"I don't understand," Maura said after an awkward silence.
"We were in an accident," Jane said slowly. "You experienced a moderate traumatic brain injury and have been unconscious for…for 82 hours."
"We were in an accident together?" Maura asked.
"Yeah, but Xander wasn't with us, and the baby's okay," Jane said quickly.
"I…I…I don't understand," Maura repeated stupidly, her hands finally finding the edge of her blanket and pulling it up. She was distracted from Jane as she felt her hand brush over her extended belly. "Wha–…" she gasped in fear when her eyes landed on her clearly pregnant belly.
Jane reached towards Maura in concern, but Maura jerked away. "Please don't touch me," she said icily.
"I-I'm sorry," Jane stuttered, stepping back.
"I appreciate your concern detective Rizzoli, but I would prefer to be alone right now," she said stiffly. Maura Isles did not break down in front of colleagues.
"Maura," Jane said weakly, but she didn't leave. Maura realized that Jane had been calling her by her first name since she had entered the room. She wasn't sure if she had ever heard Jane refer to her by anything other than Dr. Isles before.
"I understand that we were likely injured in the same incident," Maura said with a false confidence. "But I would prefer to be left alone while I recover. I appreciate your concern, but it is unnecessary." She didn't want Jane or anyone else at work to see her in this state. She also didn't want anyone to find out that she had no one in her life that would visit her in the hospital. Although, if Jane had been here the whole time, she had probably already figured that out. Maura really did not want Jane's pity.
"My concern is unnecessary?" Jane said in disbelief, her hands flailing dramatically at her sides. "What're you…wait, do you…do you not remember who I am?" she asked. As she spoke, the tone of her voice had changed dramatically, and it confused Maura even further.
"I know who you are," Maura said defensively. "But I don't understand why you are here, detective."
"What do you remember about me?" Jane asked slowly, and Maura wanted to be offended, but something in Jane's voice made Maura feel like she should answer.
"We work together. You are a homicide detective with the Boston Police Department, and I am the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You're very good at your job," Maura added awkwardly.
"We're married," Jane said simply, holding up her left hand to show Maura her wedding band.
Maura's eyes widened in shock, and her arms wrapped protectively around the baby inside her that she had no memory of conceiving. She had never been more scared in her entire life.