Hi! I hope everyone is safe, healthy and hanging in there okay. I've been pretty low on inspiration lately, but this story is finally coming together. Just an excuse for some hurt/comfort and friendship, because it's my favorite. Usual disclaimers apply - I'm not any sort of expert, I don't own anything, it's all for fun, etc. I hope you enjoy. -abby
Higgins returned to consciousness slowly. Her head was a pounding misery, and once slightly coherent she realized it wasn't the only part of her body that throbbed. Absolutely everything hurt, some areas with a dull ache of newly forming bruises and others, like her left rib cage, with a sharp pain that spoke of more serious injury. What happened? With a soft groan, she pried her eyes open to try and make sense of her situation.
She found herself in the driver's seat of Robin Masters' Range Rover, which had clearly been involved in a serious accident. The vehicle's dashboard had crumpled so far inward that the lower rim of the steering wheel pressed firmly against her thighs, and the air was filled with the chemical smell that came with airbag deployment. Higgins coughed, bracing her palm against the spike of pain in her ribs and pushing aside the flare of panic that threatened to surface when she realized she had no memory of the event.
A glance to her right made it harder to maintain control, as she suddenly discovered she was not alone.
Thomas Magnum was slumped awkwardly in the passenger seat, face angled slightly in her direction. His head rested against the window, and something in the back of Juliet's foggy brain noted that the airbag on that side had apparently failed. Blood-stained glass spiderwebbed around his skull and more blood slicked the right side of his face, at least what Higgins could see of it. Even more worrying was the red-tinged fluid streaming from his left ear. "Thomas," Juliet said, dismayed to find that her voice was little more than a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Thomas!"
There was no response, and Higgins stretched a shaking hand out to check for his pulse. She couldn't quite reach, stopped short by the seat belt. She looked down, fumbling with the restraint uselessly. Her movements became more frantic as she yanked and shimmied the jammed catch, trying and failing to release the buckle. "Bloody hell," Juliet cursed, forcing herself to take a deep breath. Her injured ribs screamed for mercy, but the pain helped her to refocus and suddenly she remembered the Range Rover's emergency call feature. First call for help, then figure out how to reach Thomas. She reached up and pressed the red button on the overhead console, frowning when nothing happened. She jabbed it again in frustration, to no result. Why isn't it working? Wait...my phone!
She squirmed in the seat, managing to finally dig the phone out of her back pocket. Swiftly she dialed 911, and barely managed to tamp down a scream of frustration when the call refused to connect. She took another focusing breath, and tried again. Still no luck, so she tapped out a text message to Rick and TC. The message also failed to send and with an effort, Juliet forced herself to remain calm. Where's Magnum's phone? Maybe it will work. She scanned the area again, heart sinking when she saw the damaged device down by his feet, far out of reach even if the screen wasn't completely shattered.
She called her partner's name again, studying him carefully in an attempt to gauge the severity of his injuries. He still didn't respond, not even a twitch, so all she could do was take small reassurance in the slow, shallow rise and fall of his chest.
Juliet considered her options as she tried and failed to place another phone call. She restarted her phone hoping it would somehow grab a signal, but to no avail. She lost track of time, trying everything her battered brain could think of - emails, connecting to nearby wifi signals, anything at all. Every few moments she glanced at Magnum to be sure he was still breathing, then went back to her task. Over and over, she attempted to get some sort of communication through to Rick and TC, Katsumoto, or Kumu.
No matter what she tried, nothing seemed to work and with a heavy sigh, she finally gave up.