AU: Here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy it!
Maura had instinctively raised her hands to protect her head as noticed the car headed for the road sign, and as she came around, she found her head rested against the depleted airbag with her arms resting against the back of her neck. She blinked slightly, and made sure she could feel her legs before she moved; the medical training she had received had told her that in the case of an accident, not to move straight away as it could cause more damage to the body than good. She made sure she was okay; her vision had been a little blurred as she came to, but had since corrected itself. The smell of fuel filled her senses and as she lifted her head slowly she saw smoke plummeting into the air in large, grey clouds from underneath the hood of her car. Maura knew that she had to leave the car straight away; despite her knowledge of mechanics there was nothing more she could do, leaking fuel could lead to an explosion. She opened the car door, pushing it open as far as it would go and looked around her for her purse. She could see it on the passenger seat, slightly crushed by the force of the impact, but somehow managed to retrieve her wallet and black Manolo's from the floor.
Her legs felt unsteady beneath her as they adjusted to accommodate her full weight on her 4 inch heels, but she composed herself enough to get away from the vehicle. Smoke was now billowing from the car, so she turned her back on the vehicle and began to move as quickly as she could along the dark road. The sun was still not beginning to rise in the sky; it would be dark for about another hour or so, so she walked against the white markings on the side of the highway, pulling her jacket closer to her body. She had a few cuts and bruises and thanks to the adrenaline still coursing through her veins it took her some time to recognise the fact that she had a quite deep gash in her forehead, leaking blood as it trickled down the side of her face slowly.
Maura had been walking for about thirty minutes, though it felt like hours in the wind, and there was just the tiniest hint of light appearing on the horizon ahead of her. The road still stretched out for miles, but she could see a small gas station approaching her. She walked quicker, the promised land coming closer to her and as she reached it the owner was just opening up for the day. Maura practically ran up towards him.
"E-e-excuse me," she began, her voice surprisingly small in the cold, "I need some help."
The man turned around, he was in his mid-thirties, wearing a red sox baseball cap. He lifted it slightly to take a look at Maura. His six-foot frame towered over her as he inspected the wound on her head.
"Are you okay, Miss? That's a pretty awful cut you've got yourself there..." he began.
Maura's hand instinctively went up to her forehead, smearing the red blood across her fingers.
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm fine. I crashed my car a few miles back. Do you have a phone I can use?"
He nodded as he turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open and turning the lights on inside the small building. "Sure, come in. I'll get you something for your head."
Maura smiled at him appreciatively, following the man inside. The store wasn't very big, with only two narrow aisles of snacks, drinks, and magazines. She stayed stood by the door whilst the man moved into the back of the store. He reappeared a few seconds later with an ice-pack, which he handed to Maura.
"Here you go, rest that against the wound. It should stop the bleeding, anyway."
"Thank you so much. Forgive me, I've not even introduced myself - I'm Doctor Isles."
The man moved behind the register, starting up the till. He reached under the desk and pulled out a cordless phone, placing it on the counter for Maura to use.
"My name is Mike, nice to meet you," he smiled towards her, "Feel free to use the phone."
Maura nodded and grasped the phone gratefully, calling the first number she could think of – Jane's. Her number rang and rang, but no-one answered, Jane wasn't picking up. Maura looked at her watch; it was unusually early in the morning for Jane to not be at home. The call eventually diverted to Jane's machine, but Maura didn't bother to leave a message. She didn't intend to stay there long enough to wait for Jane to return the call. She hung up, placing the phone down before picking it up again. She tried calling the police department, but there was no answer from either Frost or Korsak. Maura concluded that they must all have been called out on a case together; it was rare, but occasionally it did happen. Maura knew she couldn't call her own parents; they didn't have the best relationship and she hadn't seen them since the previous thanksgiving, so a call out of the blue certainly wouldn't go down well. There was only one other place she could call, the Rizzoli's. Not knowing how she might be received made Maura nervous. The last time she had seen Angela wasn't under the best conditions, but she couldn't very well walk all the way back to the city looking the way she did. Sometimes you need to admit when you need help, Maura, she told herself as she dialled the number.
"Hello?" A thick New York drawl almost shouted back at her through the receiver.
Maura could hear Frank shouting in the background, 'Ange! Who the hell is calling us at this time of the morning? Are the kids alright?'
"Hello? Mrs Rizzoli, It's Maura," she began tentatively, concerned that she was unduly alarming Jane's parents.
"Maura? It's a little early for a telephone call, isn't it?"
"I know, and I do apologize, Mrs Rizzoli. I normally wouldn't call you this early but I can't get hold of Jane or anyone at the police department."
"Jane got called out early this morning with the guys at the Precinct. They called here looking for Frankie to go along but he's already out. He's due back soon, though..."
"Mrs Rizzoli, I'm alright, but I'm in trouble. I need some help; I was driving back home and I hit a patch of ice on the roads. My car crashed and is currently folded up around a signpost and I'm stuck."
"Oh my God, Maura; are you alright?" Angela's voice raised and gasped simultaneously.
"I'm ... I'm not too bad, but I need help getting back and I didn't know who else to call..."
"Don't worry about it, dear. Where are you?"
"I'm on the I-90, Westbound;" Maura peered out the window to find any distinguishing features she could describe to Angela. "I'm at the Gulf Gas Station by the edge of the highway."
"Alright, well, someone will be with you as soon as we can, dear. Sit tight."
Maura appreciated Angela's kind gesture, knowing full well how she could have treated Maura; especially since she wasn't exactly her biggest fan right now. "Thank you so much, Mrs Rizzoli, you don't know how much this means to me."
"Just call me Angela, like you used to." The phone clicked off and Maura placed the receiver back onto the handset, before glancing up at Mike, who was now in the middle of reading the local newspaper.
"Thank you so much for your kindness, Mike. I don't know what I would've done otherwise." She glanced down at her ruined Blahniks' and laughed slightly. "I don't think these heels would've lasted the walk back home – or my feet!"
Mike chortled from behind his paper, "Not a problem. Feel free to take a seat until your ride arrives," he pointed at the chair by the door. "And hey, you should probably get that cut on your head checked out at a hospital, or something..."