Pain was the first thing Jane became aware of as she struggled towards consciousness. Not a dull ache or a vague sense of discomfort but sharp, all encompassing pain. Her head pounded, the whole right side of her body screamed in agony. With every breath she took, her chest and back throbbed. Her right hand pulsated and resisted her attempts to move it. The next thing Jane became aware of were hands on her body. Unfamiliar hands touching her for unknown reasons. When Jane added up the known facts, pain, unfamiliar hands touching her, the inability to move her right hand her mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenarios. Hoyt, Bianchi, or maybe some new unknown terror. She began to panic, yelling and flailing her body around in an attempt to dislodge those unknown hands. Suddenly, Jane felt a prick in her left arm and was immediately rushing back towards unconsciousness.
The second time Jane regained consciousness she was in an ambulance, rushing towards a hospital. She took comfort in the sounds of the sirens, knowing they represented the 'good guys'. Then Jane realized she was restrained on a gurney, soft protective cuffs immobilized her arms, leaving her feeling defenseless. One of the paramedics noticed Jane's heart rate and respirations increasing and leaned over to speak to her. "Agent Rizzoli, you are safe. You are in an ambulance. We are going to take good care of you."
"My hands, no restraints," Jane gasped out.
"I will remove the restraints if you give me your word you will cooperate with us. No more fighting while we are trying to help you." The paramedic promised and then looked at Jane for agreement.
Jane nodded her agreement and then immediately regretted moving her head as she felt the pain in her skull increase with just that slight movement. Jane held her breath with anticipation and anxiety until the paramedic kept her word and removed the restraints that immobilized Jane's hands. Just then the ambulance slowed as it reached the hospital. It pulled up to the ambulance bay and the doors burst open. Jane felt the gurney begin to move as she was lifted from the ambulance. There were many voices all talking at once above her. Jane closed her eyes to try to dull the sounds and bright lights to a manageable level.
Once inside the hospital, Jane struggled to follow what was going on. She tried to answer the questions that were tossed at her by multiple people. She found she couldn't focus enough to give adequate answers. Suddenly, Jane felt scissors begin to cut her clothing from her body and her sense of panic began to take over. "Stop! Don't touch me," she commanded.
Then Jane tried to curl her body into a tight ball to keep the hands off of her. She belligerently refused to allow further assessment and stopped answering questions. Jane was trying to calm her internal panic and to ground herself in the present when a phone was placed in her hands. She practically growled into the phone, "what, who is this?"
"Jane," Maura said slowly, trying to calm the other woman. "Jane, you need to calm down and let the doctors work."
After listening to Maura speak and promise that she was coming, Jane felt the need for fight or flight slowly ooze out of her body. She knew she had to calm down so the doctors could work. The sooner they patched her up, the sooner she would be able to leave this place.
Jane still felt a great deal of pain in much of her body as various extremities were manipulated, poked and prodded. She gritted her teeth and tried to remain stoic, to try to keep her badass image in place. After a third concussion evaluation the doctor asked Jane if she would like painkillers as he felt they wouldn't cause her any harm. Jane readily agreed and then slipped into a narcotic induced haze for the next hour and a half.
Jane felt the mental fog lift as the medical staff decreased the amount of narcotics entering her bloodstream through the IV in her left hand. An older, bespectacled woman wearing a great deal of PPE and looking utterly exhausted waited for Jane's attention. Once Jane was fully focused upon her she introduced herself and began to speak, "Hello Ms. Rizzoli. My name is Doctor Woods. I am in charge of your care here. I am going to run down a list of your injuries with you and then we can discuss any questions you may have."
"You have a distal radius fracture in your right arm, this is commonly known as a fractured wrist. We have placed your arm in a cast, however it will need to be replaced in approximately ten days when the swelling in your arm decreases. You also have a relatively severe concussion that resulted in a loss of consciousness. We have completed further testing and didn't find any evidence of swelling or bleeding of the brain. You will need to be careful not to overtax yourself for the next 6 weeks or so and work to prevent further injury to your head. Your nose was broken and you required stitches in lacerations on your left shoulder and bicep. There are 6 staples closing a laceration to your scalp. Your bottom lip has 2 internal and 4 external stitches and there are 4 stitches in your right eyebrow. You had a puncture wound in your right thigh that has been stitched and bandaged. We have started you on antibiotics to prevent infection and gave you a tetanus booster. Since you are law enforcement we also gave you the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. You have extensive bruising over large areas of your body. The most concerning are 5 bruised ribs, significant bruising and swelling of the right hip and knee, and bruising to the right kidney. I am also concerned that you are underweight. I know your job can be very physical, you must be careful you are consuming enough calories for your activity level. I know that was a lot of information all at once. Do you have any questions for me?"
Jane thought for several minutes before she spoke. "I understand the basics of what you just told me. I would really like to leave this hospital, how soon until I can be discharged?"
The doctor sighed exhaustedly, "normally, we wouldn't even think of releasing you for two or three days. However, as I am sure you are aware, these are not normal times. We don't have a lot of beds available and you have a doctor who is coming to get you and care for you. She will be arriving at Dulles airport at 4 am and has made arrangements for you to be transported to the airport once she arrives. I have had several lengthy phone calls with Dr. Isles and am confident you will be better off in her care than you would be here with us. I am working to gather all of your discharge paperwork and medications before your ride arrives here in the next 90 minutes. I am also emailing a copy of the paperwork to Dr. Isles. Now, if you have no other questions I will be going. There are two people from the FBI waiting in the hallway to speak with you, shall I let them in?"
Jane nodded affirmatively and Dr. Woods left, holding the door open for Thea Prince and another man from the FBI. Commander Prince looked down at Jane and grimaced at the condition she was in. Before she could say anything, Jane plastered her cockiest grin on her face and said "You should see the other guy!"
Laughing, Thea said, "Well Rizzoli I am glad to see you didn't damage your funny bone. You gave us quite a scare when we found you at the bottom of that stairwell. Eventually, we are going to need a written statement from you. However, I hear you will be leaving for Boston today. Please email it to me once you are well enough. I have the belongings you left at the scene. Please secure it carefully as your service weapon is in here."
Commander Prince placed a business card in Jane's hand and a duffel bag on the bedside table. Then she moved to back up so the man who was with her could take over the conversation. Jane realized this may be her only chance to get a few answers asked Thea, "did we get them all? What happened with Smythe, Unser and the pharmacists?"
"Yes Jane, we got them all. Smyth, Unser, and the pharmacists are out, they are all okay." Thea responded with a tight smile. "Jane this is my boss, Senior field agent Simon Ward. He would like to speak with you for a few minutes."
Ward stepped forward and nodded at Jane. "Thank you for your service today. Your efforts made a big difference in today's outcome. I and the Bureau are saddened by your injuries. All of your medical costs will be covered by our insurance and you will be placed on full disability for the duration of your convalescence. Please take the time to heal. Head injuries can be quite serious and from what I have gathered this isn't your first significant injury in the line of duty. When you are ready to return to work, please give me a call, there are many opportunities within the FBI that may be well suited to you. Some of those opportunities are even in Boston, which I understand is your hometown."
Jane was speechless for several minutes before replying "Thank you Sir. I will be in touch."
With that both agents left the room and Jane was alone with her thoughts for the first time since this all began. She closed her eyes to concentrate on all of the information she had just received and drifted off into a light slumber.
Jane woke up as several people entered her hospital room. A nurse she had seen earlier, Doctor Woods, and two uniformed men with a gurney. She looked expectantly at the four until Doctor Woods began to speak. "Jane, these two young men are your ride to the airport. This bag contains your discharge papers, copies of your records and x-rays and your prescriptions. Good luck."
The doctor handed a bag to Jane and then turned and left the room. The nurse was the next to speak, "I am sorry that we had to cut your clothing off. We can't discharge you in just a hospital gown in January so I brought you some scrubs and warm socks. These gentlemen are going to step outside so I can help you change."
Once the two men had left, Jane asked hopefully, "Are you going to take out the IV now?"
"I'm sorry but both Dr. Woods and Dr. Isles concur that it is best to leave the IV in so that you may finish the course of antibiotics and Dr. Isles may easily administer pain medication should it become necessary during your flight home." The nurse looked apologetic as she informed Jane the IV will remain.
The nurse untied the hospital gown and allowed Jane to hold the gown to cover her chest while she helped Jane into a long sleeve scrub top with a front closure. Jane then sat up in the bed and swung her legs over the side so the nurse could easily slide the loose fitting pants up Jane's legs and then tie them at the waist. Finally, the nurse put a pair of soft, brightly colored socks and Jane's feet. Looking satisfied at what she accomplished, the nurse opened the door and allowed the young men to reenter Jane's hospital room. Then the three worked together to transfer Jane to the gurney, securely fasten all of the buckles and straps, and attach her IV bag to the pole on the gurney. Finally, the nurse tucked 4 blankets all around Jane to keep her warm and placed the several bags containing Jane's possessions on the rack in the back of the gurney.
Jane was so drained from the exertion and the pain that she fell asleep before she had even left the hospital and slept all the way to the airport. She woke up as the private ambulance pulled up alongside an airplane. The doors to the ambulance opened and standing in front of Jane was Maura. Maura was backlit by the bright lights of the airport. She looked stunning with her blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail, wearing an emerald green pea coat that highlighted the green in her eyes. Eyes that shimmered with unshed tears as she saw her friend in person for the first time in a year. "Jane," she said smiling, "let's go home."