Flameout – Chapter 10

A/N: I have been trying to publish a chapter each Sunday. However, I do not believe I will be able to keep that schedule. I suffer from severe headaches and often have days when I cannot write. I do not want to pressure myself to keep the publishing schedule. I will finish the story however, it might be a few weeks in between chapters going forward.

Sunday Afternoon/Early Evening

Gen had talked with Maura for a few minutes before Maura took Charlie home.

"Maura, I will let you explain all of this to Jane. I know that Jane has feelings for you and you don't have to say anything but I know you also have feelings for her." Maura started to deny it but Gen wasn't having it. "Maura, I am not blind. You can deny it all you want but I see it and so do others. I know you are her doctor and nothing can happen but it makes her feel good to know that you do care in some fashion."

"Thank you, Gen. I know we don't know each other that well, but I feel a calmness when you are around and I am thankful that you were available to help me out today. I will find a way to talk to Jane to let her know that my son was more than likely responsible for her plane crashing." Gen reached over and grabbed Maura's hand and smiled at her. She knew this was hard for Maura.

Maura continued, "I want to let the police complete their investigation. I feel it is in Jane's best interest for her to concentrate on healing."

"I understand and that is why I agree with you, Maura. I will let you go. I will be going back to Boston tonight. You have my number, if you ever need anything or if you just want to talk sometime. Thank you for taking care of my friend, Jane. She is special and I am so happy she will recover from this plane crash." They hugged goodbye and Gen went back to the hospital to check in on Jane.

Maura was pleased that Gen was there with her. She knew she didn't know Gen that well, heck they had just met. She felt calm when Gen was there with her. It is not that she didn't trust the Syracuse Police Department, it was rather that she wasn't sure what was going to happen. She had never been questioned by the police before and although Gen was a police officer she was calmed by her presence.

After Maura's ten-year old son, Charlie, had provided the names and addresses of his three friends that he shot off the rockets with, Detective Johnson and his team got in touch with Charlie's three friends, Billy, Danny and Bobby and brought them and their parents into the precinct for questioning. Charlie had gone home with his mother. He didn't need to be present when his friends were questioned. He had given his statement of the event and Detective Johnson assured him that he would be in touch with him in the next few days.

Angela, Frankie, Tommy

After their two hour visit with Jane at the hospital, Angela, Frankie and Tommy return to their hotel and quickly packed up their room. Frost recorded their goodbye messages to Jane on his cell phone. Angela assured her that she would call daily to check in with her. Frost grabbed his bag and they all checked out of the hotel room. Frankie drove Angela and Tommy back to Boston. Frost returned to the hospital as he had been staying at the hospital with Jane.

When Jane woke up, Frost shared her family's goodbye message with her. She was pleased that she wouldn't have to deal with her mother and brothers at the hospital. Jane knew that they were working on getting her moved to a Boston hospital as soon as they could. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Gen

When Gen arrived back at the hospital, she was accompanied by her husband, Steve. Steve had arrived in Syracuse so he could drive back to Boston with his wife. Gen had to be at work Monday morning and she had agreed to drive Jane's mustang back to Boston. Steve didn't want his wife driving a car that she was not that familiar with back to Boston alone at nighttime, so he flew to Syracuse so he could help her drive the mustang home.

While waiting at the airport for Steve, Gen called the department and put in a one-week emergency leave request for Frost so he could stay with Jane. Jane wanted to go back to Boston as soon as she could. Gen knew that earlier that morning, Maura and Nina had discussed when it would be feasible to release Jane so she could be transferred to a Boston hospital.

Gen wanted to make sure Frost had the time off to be with Jane. Jane had already stated that she wanted her mother and brothers to go home. Gen asked Frost to oversee the coordination with the two hospitals to have Jane transferred. Amelia would also need to sign off on Jane's release, as her head injury was the main reason her release to a Boston hospital had not been authorized yet.

Amelia

Amelia had entered Jane's room about an hour after Jane's family had left. She had checked Jane's vitals and talked with Frost for a few minutes before Jane woke up. "Hello Jane, how do you feel?"

"Okay considering. Doc, I would like to be home in Boston so that my family can take care of me there." Jane told Amelia.

"I understand, however, I think you should wait about two days before we try and transfer you. If you can wait it would be better for your recovery." Amelia wasn't very comfortable with Jane's request to be transferred to Boston, but she understood. Two days would give her head injury a chance to heal. "If you can wait until Wednesday morning, I will approve your transfer, if your swelling is totally gone and your head injury shows signs of improvement."

"Thanks, doc. I can live with that." Jane told her. Frost was in the room and knew what he had to do. He waited until Amelia left before he started making phone calls.

Jane

Jane didn't question where Gen had gone earlier, once she saw Steve enter the room. She just smiled at them. Steve's presence pleased Jane as she knew that Gen was leaving soon to go home. She knew she had to get back to work. She appreciated the fact that Gen had taken the time to come and personally check on her. She told Gen that she would be okay, however Gen wanted to see for herself.

Jane and Gen were great friends and when Gen heard about the accident, she was beside herself. The mere thought that she could have lost her friend upset her. Jane felt that Gen would be safer having her husband help her drive her mustang back to Boston. She knew that Gen was still somewhat emotional about the accident.

Gen and Steve talked with Jane and Frost for a little bit and then Frost searched for the keys to the mustang in Jane's belongings and gave them to Gen. Frost had already arranged for one of the local police officers to escort Gen to the base to retrieve the mustang. They said their goodbyes and Gen and Steve left.

Nikki

Nikki didn't like being at the County Jail, she wanted to go back to the holding cell at the precinct. She told the guards but they didn't care, she was an inmate at their facility now and she would have to adjust. She was now prisoner 5897234. She would have her time in front of the judge Monday morning. She told herself she just had to survive the night and hopefully tomorrow she would be out of this place.

She was in the chow hall getting ready to leave the line with her tray of food when she suddenly fell and dumped her tray on a rather large woman sitting at the table in front of her. The woman looked up at her and told her, "watch yourself newbie."

Nikki stood up and replied, "Look lady, I was tripped. I didn't deliberately dump my tray on your lap."

"I don't care." The lady stood up and looked down to Nikki who was several inches shorter than her. "If something happens like this again, let's just say you will not like the outcome."

"You can't threaten me, do you know who I am?" Nikki stupidly told the woman.

"Yes, I do," the large woman looked at the number on her shirt, "you are inmate 5897234, which means you are the bottom of the food chain around here.

Nikki turned and walked away. Someone said something to her and she didn't turn around. They repeated their statement and this time Nikki turned around and was met with a tray to her face. Instantly blood was coming from her nose. The tray was dropped and the other prisoners gathered around to see what had happened.

The guards quickly come by and took Nikki to the infirmary to have her face looked at. The guards hadn't notice which inmate had struck Nikki with the tray, but they had their thoughts. They would have to look at the video to confirm which inmate had struck Nikki. They knew that a 'welcome wagon' was in affect but the guards never knew which inmates were part of the 'welcome wagon.'

The video proved to be ineffective. A group of inmates were around Nikki at the time. The incident happened at the furthest point away from the camera. The inmates knew the ins and outs of the cameras and they knew how to get away with things.

Nikki had a broken nose. The doctor on duty reset her nose and told her she would be black and blue around the inner part of both eyes. She left the infirmary with a bandage over her nose and was given some aspirin for the pain. Nikki went back to her cell. She was hungry but she was not going to go back to the chow hall. She would try to keep to herself as best she could.

Stella

Stella's friend at the jail contacted her and told her, "It seems your friend had an accident and tripped as she was leaving the dinner chow line and dumped her tray on a rather large inmate, who was not too happy about her extra servings of food. She then got into an incident with a few inmates and received a broken nose and was sent to the infirmary. I believe the 'welcome wagon' had accomplished their goal."

"Excellent, thank you. You will receive a little monetary gift for your efforts." Stella said as she ended the call. She was so happy that she had a bank account under an alias that she could use to make the required payments to her associates for their assistance.

Maura

Maura was still having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that four ten-year old boys playing with modified rockets managed to take down a multi-million-dollar jet. She knew there would be some sort of punishment dealt to the boys she just didn't have any idea what the punishment would look like. Would the boys have to go to juvenile hall and serve out a sentence?

Maura was having a difficult time dealing with her feelings for Jane and after what her son had done, she wasn't sure what she was going to do. How could she tell Jane? What would she tell her? Maura thought about it and decided she would just tell her the truth.

After the children had gone to sleep, Maura told the nanny that she was leaving. Maura drove to the hospital. She had to talk to Jane. Maura entered Jane's hospital room. Upon seeing Maura, Jane told her, "Doctor Isles, I didn't think I would be seeing you tonight, they said you took the rest of the day off."

After seeing the look on Maura's face, Frost took this opportunity to leave the room and let Jane and Maura talk. "I am going to get me something to eat, I will let you ladies talk." Frost said as he left the room. He wasn't hungry but he figured a doctor needs alone time with her patient. He looked back at Jane before he walked out the door and Jane nodded to him letting him know that she was okay. He smiled and closed the door behind him.

Maura moved closer to Jane and told her, "Jane, I took the afternoon off because I had to take my son to the police station. Apparently, my ten-year old son, Charlie and three of his friends were launching modified rockets. One of those rockets was found with the remains of your F-16."

Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Wait, your son's rocket caused my flameout?"

"That is what we believed happened. The Syracuse detectives are conducting their investigation however, I wanted you to hear it from me. If you would like a new doctor to be assigned for the remainder of your stay here, I would totally understand."

"What? Wait I don't want a new doctor. I am sure it was an accident." Jane said as she reached out and placed her left hand on Maura's arm to comfort Maura who was almost in tears. She could tell how conflicted Maura felt and she wanted to comfort her.

Maura looked down at Jane's hand on her arm and felt a sense of calm. She sat on the side of her bed as they continued their conversation. She explained how Gen had met her at the police station and stayed with her while the detectives talked with Charlie. She explained that she asked Gen not to tell her as she wanted to tell her herself. Jane smiled, Gen was a great friend and she appreciated that Gen was there for Maura and Charlie. She knows firsthand how intimidating it is to be questioned by police officers.

Maura explained that Charlie and his friends will have to go before the Children's Court before they know what type of punishment will be rendered. Jane knows the law and she knows that the boys did not intend to damage her plane. It was an accident. She decided right then that she will call Gen tomorrow to see what she can do to help. She doesn't want the boys to have to go to juvenile hall for their actions. Jane knew that the boys would have to serve some sort of punishment as a F-16 was damaged and those planes are not cheap.

Jane was fast asleep when Frost came back in the room. He figured half an hour was long enough for Maura to tell Jane what she needed to tell her. He climbed on the extra bed that had been brought into the room and fell asleep. He had told Jane he would be there until she was able to leave Syracuse. Gen had brought a laptop and some copies of case files with her that Frost had been working on before Jane's accident. She knew he would want to check in on things when he was able to. He had appreciated her thoughtfulness. He had left in such a hurry he hadn't had a chance to grab anything except Jane's family before he left for Syracuse.

Maura knew that the children were sleeping and that she had to be to work at 6 AM so she sent the nanny a text letting her know that she was going to stay at the hospital. Maura always kept at least three outfits in her locker in her office and her bathroom was equipped with a shower. She had all of her bathroom products available in the bathroom. Maura was very meticulous and always like to be prepared.

Her office was a converted hospital room. She was allowed to decorate it however she liked. She made sure that her sofa in her office was very comfortable to sleep on as she knew she might have to spend some nights at the hospital. When the need arose, she preferred to stay in her office rather than the on-call room. She liked her privacy.

Before she retired for the evening, she let the nighttime nursing staff know that she would in her office sleeping. After talking with the nursing staff, she went back to her office and turned on some soft music that she could sleep to. The music helped drown out some of the noises from the hallway. She also made sure that her notifications were turned on for her patients monitors. When she was at the hospital she liked knowing when something was going on with her patients. With this feature, she would be notified as quickly as the nurses.

Monday Morning

Jane

At about 2:30 in the morning, all of Jane's monitors alerted. Frost instantly woke up and went to Jane's side to see what was going on. The nurse was there within a minute and Maura was there in about three minutes.

Jane sat up with a scared look on her face. Frost was trying to comfort her. She just stared at him. The nurse quieted the monitors was evaluating Jane's condition. She was covered in a thin layer of sweat. She had Frost help her get a wet towel to put on her forehead as they laid her back down in the bed. Maura arrived and looked her over. As Maura was taking her temperature, Jane looked right into her eyes and asked, "Are they okay?"

Maura didn't know who Jane was referring to, she was a little concerned. Jane kept asking her. Maura asked her, "Who, Jane? Is who okay?"

"The boys, the rockets, the explosion. My plane crashed. Are they okay?" Jane repeated as she grabbed Maura's arm. Maura spoke in a calm voice and told Jane, "Yes, Jane, the boys are okay. You were injured as was your plane but the boys are okay."

Jane seemed to relax, although she didn't release Maura's arm. Jane's heartbeat and blood pressure lowered and returned to a normal level after a few minutes. Jane closed her eyes for a few minutes. Maura just stayed still knowing that Jane was still holding onto her arm. She didn't want to move and upset Jane.

About five minutes later, Jane opened her eyes and asked Maura, "What happened? What time is it?"

"It is 2:40 in the morning, you had a bad dream. Do you remember anything about your dream?"

"I was flying in my jet and all of a sudden, we were being shot at. We deployed countermeasures and avoided the SAMs. My wingman, Ace, was hit. It was hard for Ace to maneuver his plane but we made it back to base, but I didn't know about the boys. They were behind us. My radio was shot, I only heard what seemed like half of our transmissions. My plane had been riddled with gunshots." Jane closed her eyes and stopped recounting her nightmare. Tears started flowing, she was upset.

Frost leaned over and told Maura, "Doc, as you know from her medical history, Jane suffers from PTSD. This nightmare sounds like the incident that she and Ace were involved in years ago. Two of her fellow pilots were killed in that mission and she had a heck of a time recovering from their deaths. She hasn't had nightmares about that incident for quite a while."

"I will check with Dr. Sheppard, this could be a side effect of her new medication that she was just placed on last night." Maura called Amelia, she hated waking her up but she needed to know before she treated Jane.

Amelia was awoken from her sleep. She wasn't too pleasant when she answered the phone, "What the hell? It's after 2 AM this better be good."

"Sorry, Amelia, it is Maura. We had an incident with Jane. She had a bad nightmare. Frost stated that it sounds like the same nightmare she had before."

"I will be there in twenty minutes. Talk to her and try to keep her calm. I am on my way." Amelia said and hung up not waiting for an answer from Maura.

Amelia

Amelia thought to herself while she got dressed, 'damn it, why can't Jane catch a break. We knew this was a possibility but the possibility was so small, I thought, I hoped we would get lucky. Ten percent odds and Jane had to be one of the ten percent that would get it.'

Amelia arrived at the hospital twenty-five minutes later and quickly reviewed Jane and her stats. She asked Jane questions and then gave Jane some medication to help her sleep. She told Maura, "It was a small chance that she would have side effects, Derek and I had discussed the medication and this was the one medication with the least side effects. We were just praying that she would have any side effects."

"I will run some additional tests in the morning. She should sleep for the rest of the night. Detective Frost please call me if she has another nightmare and I will come back." She handed him her card with her cell phone number on it.

"No problem, Dr. Sheppard. Thank you for taking such good care of Jane."

"Amelia, why don't you sleep in my office. The sofa is already made out, as long as you don't mind that I had slept in there for the last few hours."

"What, no, I can't do that, Maura, where would you sleep?"

"As you can see, Jane is still holding onto my arm. She was able to calm down when she held my arm. I do not want to disturb her so I will just stay here and sleep in that big chair." Without being asked Frost moved the big chair over so that Dr. Isles could sit down in the chair.

"Okay, I will see you both in a few hours." Amelia said as she made her way to Maura's office to get some sleep.

Frost got a blanket and pillow out of the cupboard in the room and made sure Maura was comfortable. "I would offer you my bed, doc, but it is too far from Jane, although, I believe you could probably remove her hand from your arm."

"I am fine, Frost, thank you. Good night."

"Good night, doc."