Chapter 7

Mass General E.R. Waiting Room – Tuesday at 9 p.m.

I'm ready to commit murder. I was supposed to get an update two hours ago, and it's 9 p.m., and still nothing. Time to raise some hell. As I walk to the nurse's station, I hear someone call out, "Isles."

"Finally," I mutter under my breath as I quickly make my way to the doctor with Hope hot on my heels. I decide to ignore her, and I immediately ask the doctor, "How is she?"

"We were able to repair the damage, but we had to remove her spleen to stop the bleeding. Right now, Dr. Isles is in recovery, and within the hour, we'll move her to an I.C.U. bed. She will need time, care, and attention, but she should make a full recovery. Once she's a little more stable, we will X-ray her face to make sure she doesn't have any fractures," Dr. James explains.

"When can I see her?" Hope asks.

Dr. James looks at me and smiles, "When Detective Rizzoli says you can. She's only allowed two visitors at a time and only for a few minutes. She's still in critical condition. Dr. Isles needs more blood transfusions and a lot of rest so that her body can begin to heal."

"But I'm her mother."

At my wit's end, I say, "No, Constance Isles is her mother, and she's on her way. She should be here by the day after tomorrow, and she's going to see her daughter as soon as she arrives. Now is not the time for a lot of people to be visiting Maura. Maura has just had surgery, and she has wounds that don't need to get infected. Once she's out of the I.C.U., we can revisit this subject. I'm willing to keep you up to date on her condition through text messages."

Dr. James now grins at me and says to Hope, "She's right. The last thing Dr. Isles needs right now is an infection."

"For God's sake, I know that I'm a doctor after all," Hope spits out angrily.

I look at Hope and say, "You know everything you need to know for now. Maura is out of surgery and doing well, and now you can leave. Text me tomorrow, and I'll update you on her condition."

Hope ignores me and pleads to the doctor, "Dr. James, I beg of you. Let me see my daughter and be in charge of her care. I'm a million times more qualified than some cop."

Now, I'm ready to explode, but before I can, Dr. James says, "Dr. Martin, we have a power of attorney on file that says that Detective Jane Rizzoli is authorized to make all medical decisions for Dr. Isles if she's unable to. Right before we rolled her into surgery, we asked a still lucid Dr. Isles, who she wanted to make medical decisions for her, and she very clearly said, Detective Jane Rizzoli. You're a doctor; you know we can't legally ignore a power of attorney or your daughter's wishes. I suggest you revisit this issue once your daughter is back on her feet."

Thank God, he shut her up, and she stomped off. I sigh in relief and ask, "When can I see her?"

He looks at his watch and says, "Within the hour. Once we have Dr. Isles settled in I.C.U., a nurse will come and take you to see her."

I smile for the first time in a while. I shake the doctor's hand and collapse into a chair. But this time, a lot happier. They repaired the damage. Maura is going to make it, and my world is right again.

An hour my ass, it took the nurse twice as long to come to get me. As I follow her to Maura's room, I can't help but feel incredibly nervous. I'm positive I'm not going to like what I'm going to see. The nurse directs me to a room where I see Maura's bodyguards standing guard. I stare at the door for a minute, take a deep breath, and brace myself.

As soon as I lay eyes on her, tears begin to fall. God, she looks so fragile, and she has so many machines around her. I can see she's having a blood transfusion, and they have her on a ventilator. The words the doctor said finally hit home. Maura could have quickly bled to death. I slowly walk towards her, and the closer I get, the more tears fall down my cheeks. The left side of her face is a huge, nasty bruise, and her eye is swollen shut. And the right side looks so pale.

I grab her hand, kiss her forehead, and whisper close to her ear, "Hey beautiful, you're out of surgery, and you're doing great. I'll be right by your side. I promise I won't leave you. I won't let anything happen to you, but I need you to get better."

I kiss the back of her hand, and then I press the button for the nurse. I need someone to tell me how long she's going to be on the ventilator. I don't think I'm going to be able to relax until I can talk to her. When the nurse enters, I ask, "How long is she going to be on the ventilator?"

"Not very long. As soon as the doctor removes the chest tube, and he sees that she's breathing on her own, he'll remove it. She's still under general anesthesia. Once it wears off, she'll wake, and that's when we'll know if it's safe to remove the ventilator. If she can breathe on her own, she'll try to pull it out," the nurse explains.

I bite my lip and say, "Well, you guys better be good because she's a doctor, and it wouldn't surprise me if she tries to take it out herself."

The nurse smiles and says, "We'll be fast. Just push the button if she starts regaining conscience, and we'll be here quickly."

I nod, and I'm left alone with her again. First, I went to our shadows and gave them orders. Two are not to leave their posts outside Maura's room. I try to put the fear in God into them and order them not to let anybody in the room that isn't a doctor or a nurse. If anybody else tries to enter, they are to knock on the door. I order the other two to guard the two main entrances to this floor. I push the recliner to the side of the bed, get comfortable, and grab her hand. I close my eyes, and I can finally rest.

Maura's I.C.U. Room – Thursday at 6 a.m.

As I begin to wake up, I can't help but notice that everything hurts. I know my left eye is swollen shut, and my right eye is blinded by only what can be hospital lights. I look around, and I know I'm in an I.C.U. room. But worse of all, I'm intubated.

I feel someone holding my hand, and I'm so happy to see that it's Jane. My Jane, I knew she'd come. I'd smile if I could. I try to get her attention by squeezing her hand as hard as I can. I only have to do it one more time, and I see movement. She's waking up. When she finally lifts her head, I can see surprise wash over her face. Jane grasps my hand with both of hers and softly says, "Hey there, sleeping beauty. It's about time you woke up. You skipped an entire Wednesday. I was so worried."

I try to point to my breathing tube with my right eye, and I'm relieved that she catches on. Jane now asks, "You want that tube out?"

I nod, and she continues, "Are you sure, Maura? You just had surgery two days ago. Let's call Dr. James. He seems to be a good surgeon, okay."

I nod, and Jane begins to push the room call button impatiently. When the nurse comes in, she takes my vitals and asks about my pain. The nurse asks me questions to see if I'm lucid and checks my chest tube. When she finishes, she smiles at Jane and says, "She looks terrific. Dr. Isles is lucid, and her chest tube hardly has any discharge. I'm going to page the doctor, and I'm almost sure he's going to remove that chest and intubation tube."

Jane grins and says, "Great."

When the nurse walks out, she turns back at me and asks, "Do you have to be an overachiever in everything, Maur? Even in healing. My God, woman, if it were me, I'd still have that tube down my throat for a few more days."

God, I want to smile and be able to talk to her. I squeeze her hand and remember I'm missing something. I gave it to a nurse in the E.R., and she promised she wouldn't lose it. I try to plead to Jane with my movements. I move my arm as if I'm looking for something and hope she gets the hint.

"Baby, you need to stay still. I don't want you to rip out your sutures," Jane says. I get my other arm in the act, and finally, Jane says, "Are you looking for something?"

I barely nod, and she smiles. Her hand goes to her belt, and before I know it, she's slipping what I was looking for and says, "Here's my badge. Relax for me, sweetheart. The doctor should be here soon."

I grip it tightly, and I can finally breathe again. Jane leans over me and says, "I have some great news, Maura, well at least I hope you think it's great. B.P.D., in their infinite wisdom, has decided…" and before she can finish, a tall, handsome doctor walks in.

"Hello, Dr. Isles, I'm Dr. Darren James. How are you feeling this morning?"

In typical Jane fashion, I roll my good eye, and Jane chuckles. She says what I'm thinking, "That tube down her throat is going to make it hard for her to answer your question, doc."

"Oh right, sorry," Dr. James mumbles. Jane is clearly flustering the handsome doctor. He examines me for a few minutes and asks yes and no questions. When he finishes, he says, "Everything looks great. I think we should remove that intubation tube as well as her chest tube. And after, we'll get an X-ray of her eye socket to make sure it's okay."

Jane grins and squeezes my hand. Dr. James explained that they had to do it in a completely sterile environment and give me a local anesthetic. From the look on her face, she still isn't happy, but she agrees, provided that the two officers who Jane calls our shadows to accompany me. She takes my badge away and says, "I'm going to hold on to it for you. As soon as you're back, I'll give it back to you. Relax, I'll be here when you come back."

I nod, and she kisses my cheek. I hope the next time I see her, I can talk to her.

Back in the I.C.U. – Thursday at 6:30 a.m.

I can't believe how well she's doing. I can't wait to talk to her. When my phone goes off, I automatically answer, "Rizzoli."

"Good morning, Jane. How's Maura doing?"

I smile and say, "Amazing, great. Maura woke up a little while ago. The doctor checked her out and said she's doing beautifully. They took her to a procedure room to take out her chest and intubation tube. I'm so happy and relieved."

"That's great, Janie. You know we're going to have to interview her, right?" Korsak says.

Shit, I don't like that at all. Hasn't Maura been through enough? So, I say, "Can't we give her a few days? She's been through hell, Vince. She needs rest and pampering. That bastard probably didn't even feed her; she's so thin and fragile."

"Alright, Jane, we're going to wait until she goes home. But we have to interview her. In the meantime, stay with her. Who knows, she might want to tell you what happened to her," Korsak says.

"But I'm not going to push anything. If Maura wants to talk about it, fine. Otherwise, we're going to wait till she's ready," I stubbornly answer.

"Jane, what about the rape kit?"

"Shit, I forgot about that. I talked to the E.R. doctor that did the rape kit, and he said that there wasn't any penetration or tearing. Zero semen, the doctor thinks the monster might have just wanted to make it seem like he raped her. The bastard wanted to torture me some more," I explain angrily.

"We'll get him, Janie. How can I help?"

It's so hard not to love Vince. I smile and say, "I'm hungry, and I need caffeine."

"How does your favorite coffee with a big box of donuts sound?"

"Great, but make them all glaze. Glaze donuts are Maura's favorite," I grin.

"You got it. I'll be there soon," Korsak says and then hangs up.

A few minutes later, another phone call, I answer, "Rizzoli."

"Hello darling, how's my girl doing?"

I smile and answer, "So much better, Constance. She woke up this morning; the doctor examined her and said she's doing beautifully. In fact, she's down in the procedure room, getting her chest and intubation tube removed. She'll be able to talk to you when you get here."

"Smashing, I should arrive in Boston by 2 p.m. your time," Constance says happily.

"Great, you know how Maura loves to see you. It'll be a nice surprise," I smile.

"I'm so relieved that she's safe and she's going to be okay," Constance says.

"Me too."

"Alright darling, give her a kiss for me, and I'll see you very soon."

"See you soon, Constance," I smile, and then she hangs up.

Constance Isles had changed so much from when I met her. I never imagined that the little talk I had with her would have such a significant impact. I still remember when I went to Constance's Installation, and I couldn't believe she hadn't bothered to put her daughter on the list. I still don't consider a bunch of hanging water bottles art, but at least Constance admitted that she didn't know how to be a mother. Constance felt that she had missed so much and that she wouldn't be able to get the time she missed back. But to her credit, she's making the moments that are happening now count.

The Dirty Robber – Thursday at 10 a.m.

Angela Rizzoli is cleaning everything she can think of to distract herself from thinking that there are not one but two crazy people trying to kill her daughter. As she scrubs a booth, she hears the door open. She calls out, "We are closed. Come back in two hours."

"I know you're closed, but I'm not here for the food. I'm here to talk to you, Angela," Dr. Hope Martin says.

"What do you want?" Angela asks coldly.

"I want to see my daughter."

"Take that up with Jane," Angela responds and goes back to her cleaning.

"I know you're upset with me because I can't help you, but please, I need to see Maura," Hope pleads.

Angela turns around and angrily states, "Paddy Doyle wants my daughter dead. And you refused even to try to help. Why on this God's green earth should I help you?"

"Paddy Doyle is part of my past."

"He is the father of your daughter, which means there's a bond between you that will always exist."

"Alright, I'll talk to Paddy if you help me see my daughter and help me end their relationship," Hope says.

"Okay, I agree. We need to save these girls from themselves. But you have to call Paddy first and get him to cancel the hit he put on Jane, and this point is non-negotiable," Angela states.

Hope nods in agreement, and Angela Rizzoli can't help but feel some relief. Now she had an ally. At this moment, all she cares about Jane. Maura has two mothers, and they can take care of her. As far as Angela is concerned, the only thing that matters is saving Jane from making the biggest mistake of her life.

Maura's I.C.U. Room – Thursday at 1:47 p.m.

I can watch her sleep for hours. I'm dying for her to wake up so that I can ice her eye. Seeing it makes my blood run hot. James told me it was a miracle her orbital socket wasn't broken or fractured because the bastard hit her hard. When I find him, I'm going to break as many bones as possible. I'm going to make him regret ever coming near her.

They brought her back a few hours ago, but she's still out like a light. Dr. James came in with her and explained that everything went perfectly. The doctor put her on a liquid diet for a few days. I can't wait until I can spoil her. I'm even willing to eat snails if it would mean she could put on a few pounds.

Vince has already come and gone. He brought two boxes of glazed donuts, and when he saw Maura, he made me promise to let her eat all of them. God, she looks so fragile. According to him, Cavanaugh and Dean had another explosive conversation. The entire Precinct could hear them. In the end, Cavanaugh won. He persuaded the Chief of Police to ask for another agent because there was no way we could work with Dean. Too much baggage. Maybe working with a new agent, our relationship with the F.B.I. could improve.

Korsak also reminded me to let Maura know that he was taking care of Robbie. God, I forgot all about him. I think I put him on my desk before I ran out of the bullpen. I gave him the name of Maura's favorite perfume and asked him to take good care of him. He was Maura's new Bass, and I'm going to make sure Robbie is well cared for.

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear two loud knocks at the door. Shit, this can't be good. I quickly open it, and I know I'm in for a fight. I walk out of the room and make sure I close the door behind me before I say, "Why are you here? I told you to text me and that I'm willing to keep you apprised of her condition."

"Well, that's not good enough. I want to see my daughter," Hope orders.

"Too bad, take it or leave it," I reply loudly.

And as usual, I hear from behind me, "Janie, what would it hurt to let her see Maura for a few minutes?"

I turn to my mother and growl, "Why are you here? This is none of your business. Maura is still in the I.C.U., and she needs a lot of rest. Once she's out of here, we can discuss having more visitors. Not before."

"Come on, Jane, what're five minutes?"

"Don't you people understand? We're both in danger. It's not safe for her to have a lot of people visiting right now. Besides, Maura is not up for it. She needs time to regain her strength," I argue angrily.

"You should leave then. Jane, this is all your fault," Hope retorts angrily.

I glare at her a growl, "Leave, or I'll have you escorted out by force if necessary."

"Janie, she talked to Paddy for us. He canceled the hit on you. Can't you just give her a few minutes?" Ma argues.

Now I understand what's happening. I glare at my mother and say, "You sold yourself to the Devil so that she would talk to Paddy, didn't you?"

"Jane," Ma begins, but I cut her off and say, "Hope didn't do it because it was the right thing to do. She did it to get you to help her. Well, it's not going to work."

"I won't leave until I see my daughter," Hope declared.

"Oh yes, you will because Maura Isles is my daughter, not yours," A voice says from behind Hope.

Hope quickly turns around and is confronted by Constance Isles in all her glory. And the hallway is silent.