Series title: Whumptober 2023
Chapters: 1/1
Characters: Maura Isles / Jane Rizzoli / FPaul Wescourt
Trigger warnings: None
A/N: The characters and universe don't belong to me. All rights go to TNT, and everyone involved in the production of Rizzoli and Isles, as well as Tess Gerritsen. Everything else belongs to my twisted imagination.
Her body hit the water with such force that Maura found herself praying to every deity she could think of that Jane would be fine. Her treacherous mind was calculating the force of the impact and the speed of her fall, the injuries she could sustain, the water temperature, how long Jane could hold on in there. Her conclusions were devastating. Or she was too personally involved. It was Jane after all. Her best friend. Her soulmate. If she was to lose her, she wouldn't recover. And her family… Her family would be devastated. Angela would never get back on her feet. It was all Jane. Putting her life on the line to save others. Never thinking of her family and friends before throwing herself head first in dangerous situations. She had been told many times but Jane was always acting on instinct. She never took the time to think.
Suddenly Maura was furious. Furious at Jane for never thinking about her, for never thinking about her family and always finding a way to put herself in danger. How could she be so selfish? No, selfish wasn't the word. Jane was all but selfish and that was why she was such a good cop. But that selflessness toward complete strangers was detrimental to her personal relationships. Jane had put her through so much since they met, and she was still coming back to her, still caring for her. It took a great toll on her. Was it worth it? Was her friendship with Jane worth worrying for her all the time because of her reckless behaviour? It was a question Maura often asked herself since Jane had lost her baby. She had invested so much in that pregnancy that it felt like she was the one who lost it. Jane recovered, or she pretended so, and had gone back to work as if nothing happened. Maura was still mourning.
Deep down, she knew that a friendship like the one she has with Jane was worth everything they could go through. Jane was exceptional and kind and clever and always coming forward whenever she was asked for help. She had even interrupted a date night with Casey to rush to the hospital after Maura called her because Constance and she had been victims of a hit and run driver. She had been ready to ruin her career to save her from jail. She had even accepted to cut her leg open with a shard of glass in the middle of the woods to save her. She had killed her nemesis to protect her, and rushed to her when she found out that her boyfriend was a serial killer. She had told Constance about her attitude toward her daughter, run to Maura when her biological mother rejected her. Jane was always just a call away, was always ready to anything to keep her safe.
Maura wished she could do the same for herself as she was scrutinising the dark surface of water hoping to see a movement that would tell her that Jane was alive. But the water was still and quiet. Jane could be dead. Or she had been taken away by the flow. She could be stuck underwater. Or she could be hurt.
Her brain was out of its trance. She called for help. And waited. She waited for what felt like an eternity as the night grew darker and colder, as her anxiety was strangling her, as her hopes were constantly shattered at every call she heard on the radio Jane had forgotten in the car. The river was long and deep. They could never find her body if she had drowned. And if she had reached a bank somehow, she could have lost consciousness and be suffering from hypothermia. Her mind was going off the rails. Frightening.
A flare crossed the dark sky at last. She rushed there without thinking. It surely was a sign. A good sign. Someone could have found Jane. Another flare lit up the sky. She was nearly there. She could hear the radio coordinates. She was going in the right direction. She parked her car near and jumped out of it to run toward the water. She only stopped when she saw two silhouettes. One was moving, the other was not. Her heart dropped in her chest when she was close enough to see what was going on: Paul Wescourt, the man who had caused Jane to jump from that bridge, was trying to revive her. His knowledge of first aid was limited according to the clumsiness of his movements.
Maura roughly pushed him away to do it herself. Jane was deathly pale. Her lips were blue, and her skin was cold. She had a nasty head wound that had stopped bleeding because Jane was too cold for the blood to flow properly in her veins. But most of all, it was because she wasn't breathing and had no pulse.
"She grabbed me and pushed me on the bank. I tried to help her but..."
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long since she stopped breathing?"
The only thing Manra wanted right now was to jump on the man and strangle him for putting her friend in danger, but it wouldn't help Jane in anyway. Knowing for how long she had stopped breathing would. Past minutes and the damages would be irreversible.
"Around two minutes."
Two minutes was a long time, but it still was too much for Maura. Her fears from earlier that night were coming to life and she hated her mind for even bringing them up, hated Paul Wescourt for taking Jane with him, hated him for taking Jane away from her.
Her arms hurt, but she wouldn't give up the reanimation. Not until she felt a pulse, not until Jane was breathing again.
"You are now allowed to die today, Jane Rizzoli!"
Maura pressed Jane's chest harder. She would crack a rib or two. It often happened when you were performing CPR. It was the least of their problems if it could save Jane's life.
"Come on, Jane. Come on."
Finally, Jane's respiratory system kicked back in and forced her to cough out the water she had inhaled. Maura was relieved to find a pulse. Jane was back although she wasn't waking up. Maura placed her in recovery position and covered her with her jacket. She grabbed her phone and made a call.
"This is Dr. Maura Isles. I need a helicopter to transport a patient with a mild hypothermia. Woman. 36 years old. Patient was clinically dead for three minutes after inhaling water. I initiated CPR and reanimated her. Pulse is weak but stable."
"Copy that, Dr. Isles. Help is on its way."
"I also need a bus for a second patient. Male. Around 40. He's conscious and alert."
"Roger."
It only took a few minutes for both the ambulance and the helicopter to arrive. Terribly long minutes during which Maura was asking Jane to hold on. The detective was quickly taken in charge and Maura insisted to come with them on board. Her friend was alive. Her vitals were good for someone in mild hypothermia. They had to warm her up for her to be completely out of danger…