“Last year, a detective was murdered and Jane brought him to
the station under orders to speak with him.
I was in the morgue.  Her brother,
Frankie, brought in a witness to the killing and Jane left the detective to
speak with her…the precinct was overrun by what turned out to be that
detective’s men.  Jane’s brother had been
shot point blank in the vest and she begged me to help him… I did my best, but
he was dying and it was while we were there with the detective, Marino that we
realized that he was behind everything.
He started to tell us how we were all going to die and he would be
viewed as a hero but I had the radio on and everyone heard, so that destroyed
the plans he had.”  Maura closed her eyes
as she prepared to retell one of the worst times of her life until now.

“He got extremely angry and Jane placed herself between
Marino and her brother and I.  When he
moved to grab me she got in the way and let him take her instead asking me to
take care of her brother.  The officers
outside didn’t have a good shot and the more time passed the greater the chance
that her brother wouldn’t make it.  Jane
knew that.  She begged them to take the
shot and apparently Marino told her Frankie was probably already dead.  I was there when she wrestled with him for
the gun and placed it against her abdomen.” Maura looked at her hands before
looking at JJ.  The sympathy and empathy
in her eyes was her undoing and tears rolled slowly down her face.

“Maura…don’t…you don’t have to…” she felt terrible for
making the woman relive that moment.  She
remembered seeing Emily after Doyle had stabbed her with that piece of
wood.  Her heart had stopped when she
thought Emily would die.  It had broken
when she had to “die”, she understood and she felt for her.

“It’s okay, you have to understand she knew, she didn’t
think, she knew that the only way for
Frankie and I to get help quickly was to take the shot everyone else refused
to.  She shot through herself to shoot
him.   She saved us and almost died in
return.”  Turning her eyes on JJ, “when
she commits herself to something, there’s no going back.  She was willing to die to save us.  When you were taken along with her, I know my
Jane, she blamed herself and already considering you a friend, she was not
going to let anything happen to you, like I said before, it’s just who she is.”
Maura grew quiet.