Flameout – Chapter 13

Tuesday Morning

Amelia, Maura and Nina

Amelia had asked to meet with Maura first thing in the morning. Maura agreed and shortly after her morning rounds, she met Amelia in her office. There was a knock at the door and Nina appeared. Amelia had been expecting Nina. She answered the door while Maura remained seated at her desk.

Maura felt like they were having an intervention meeting. After several minutes of discussion from both Amelia and Nina, Maura agreed to see Jennifer. Nina sent a text to Jennifer and then walked with Maura to Jennifer's office. Nina asked Maura, "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No Nina, I think I will be okay. I know Jennifer. Thank you for your concern for me and for forcing the issue."

Nina hugged Maura and told her, "I am your friend and I only wanted to help. I know this is hard for you. Jennifer will listen and help you also. If you need me or change your mind about wanting me to be in here with you just let me know." They broke the hug and Maura had a seat on Jennifer's sofa.

Jennifer and Maura talked for over an hour. It helped that Amelia and Nina had already briefed Jennifer. This wasn't normal protocol by any means but then Maura wasn't your normal individual either. She was a highly trained trauma surgeon and also a much sought after medical examiner. She was beautiful, intelligent and a loving mother and friend. She was still mourning the loss of her husband and her life in Boston.

For Maura to be suffering on such a level concerned Jennifer as well. They did not want Maura to suffer a mental breakdown. Meeting Jane and dealing with the aftermath of knowing that her son was involved in Jane's accident took a toll on Maura. She was very compassionate and this trauma just brought all of feelings to the surface and she needed to talk about it and finally deal with everything that had been going on in her life.

Maura felt such a weight lift off of her shoulders after her talk with Jennifer. Maura was trying to handle everything on her own and not let those around her know that it was too much. She was so proud. She thought that if others knew that she was overwhelmed, that they would think less of her. She even had Jane concerned for her and Jane had only known her a few days.

Maura returned to her office to find Amelia and Nina there. They had left and ran errands and checked on patients and came back to Maura's office, they wanted to be there for Maura. They all talked for a few minutes and all three women left the office known that Maura was now in a better head space and could continue her work. Maura thanked both of her friends and hugged them before they departed the office.

Nikki

Nikki hated being in jail. She wanted to go back to Boston. She couldn't believe that she had to wait until Monday to see the judge again and find out her fate. She had been able to stay out of trouble at the jail and she was pleased that no one seemed to want to beat her up anymore. She called Mark every day. She missed him and wanted to be able to snuggle with him at night. She just wanted her life back.

She felt that she needed to give up on Jane. Everything, all of it, court, jail, and being beaten up, it was too much for her. She just wanted to be loved and to love someone. She convinced herself, maybe she should give up on Jane and just be with Mark. Jane apparently didn't want to be with her and Mark was there and he loved her.

Accident Investigation Team

The team finished up their respective portions of their investigation and started writing the final report. As they submitted their input for the report, the respective team member was released back to their normal duties.

The colonel was pleased with the work that the team had accomplished during their few days together. He was pleased that in this accident the pilot survived. The aircraft was a total loss but the life of the pilot continued, a little banged up but she was alive to tell others about the accident.

Stella

Stella continued with the scheme that she was hatching. She wanted to have Jane all to herself. She continued to check in with her resources to make sure that Jane was still being transported to Boston on Wednesday.

Jane

Jane had asked one of the nurses to tape the cards that the children had made for her on the wall beside her bed so that she could look at them. She thought it was so sweet that they had made her cards. Frost had told her that judge ordered them to write apology letters to her but he did not order them to make cards for her, they did that on their own. The cards meant more to her than the apology letters.

She was happy that the boys didn't have to go to juvenile hall. She thought that it was great that the judge wanted them to spend the day there. That hopefully would make them understand what their fate could have been. After hearing about the online courses that they had to take she wanted to take them also, they sounded interesting. She had studied about rockets when she was younger however she never had the urge to build them, she wanted to fly.

Jane loved flying, she learned to fly before she learned to drive. She had worked odd jobs here and there to make money for flying lessons. One of the local pilots took Jane up whenever he could and showed her how to work the controls. He only accepted some money to help with the cost of the gas, he did not charge Jane for the lessons.

Jane knew she would have to pay for the lessons so that they would be logged into her flight book. These lessons did not count for her flight hours but rather helped her build her confidence that she could do this. She decided before she would attend flight school, she would learn as much as should could, thus helping her pass flying school with no problem.

Tuesday Afternoon

Charlie

Charlie and his friends had their community service request approved by the lawyer they would start their hours the next Saturday. Maura and Bella decided that they would also participate with Charlie. The nanny also wanted to help but she had plans for that weekend as Maura was not on call and so she had the weekend off. She would spend the weekend with her family.

The faster they could complete Charlie's community service hours the faster they could make plans for their future. Charlie had already signed up for the online courses and would complete both of the classes within three weeks.

Maura

Maura had scheduled an appointment with her supervisor, she wanted to talk to him about her future with the hospital. At the meeting Maura told her supervisor, "I would like to work strictly as a Medical Examiner. I do not desire to treat live patients. I would like to speak for the dead and help discover the reason why some of our patients were murdered. I am very good and have excelled in forensic science, more so than my trauma studies."

"So, you would like to modify your work schedule so that you are strictly working as a medical examiner without swapping out to trauma?"

"Yes, I would like to work set hours with set days off. I need to do this for my family. I would like to work with this schedule for the next six months and then move back to Boston. I have appreciated my time here however my family is my first concern."

"I understand, I hate to lose you as a trauma surgeon but I am thankful that you will be staying with us for the next six months. Family is important and with everything that just happened with Charlie I understand your desire for set hours and set days off. Your children are still young and as a single parent you need to be with them. I approve your request effective immediately."

"Thank you. Can I work Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM?"

"Yes, and I will let the board know of this change to your schedule."

"Thank you." Maura stated as she left her supervisor's office. She needed to spend time with her children and improve her mental health. She would continue seeing Jennifer and work through her issues. She knew one thing for sure, it was time to move back to Boston.

Tuesday Night

Maura informed her nanny that she now had set work hours and that in six months she would be moving back to Boston. The nanny was happy, she missed Boston. She loved Maura and her children but seven years was a long time to be away from Boston. She realized she had made the decision but it was still difficult for her at times.

Wednesday Morning

Amelia

Amelia had stayed on in Syracuse as she wanted to be there for Maura and to help her deal with everything that was going on because of Jane's accident. Maura had been feeling guilty for what her son and his friends had caused. Knowing Jane and that she could have died because of their rocket hit Maura hard. She was not dealing well with the situation and Amelia and Nina were trying to help her the best they could.

Amelia also wanted to be there for Jane. She and Jane had made a connection and she wanted to make sure she was well enough to make the trip to Boston. Because Maura was so overwhelmed Amelia was doing extra checks on Jane as was Nina. This was so unlike Maura. She had suggested that Maura talk to someone and at first Maura argued with her and told her she would be just fine but after court on Monday afternoon, Maura decided that Amelia was correct, she needed to talk with someone.

Stella

Stella got dressed in an EMT uniform. She had the meeting location of the paramedics and knew she had to leave in the next ten minutes to get to building where the ambulance was located. She was sporting a brown wig and had put some green contacts in. She did her makeup a little different than she normally wore it and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail.

She took an Uber to the ambulance as she didn't want to be seen in her car. The ambulance was parked outside of the female attendant's house as she had checked it out earlier that day. Stella approached the female EMT, she took out a syringe and proceeded to shoot the EMT with a portion of medicine that would knock her out. Stella led her to the ambulance as the EMT became weak from the drug.

Stella opened up the back of the ambulance after securing the keys from the EMT and led the EMT onto the stretcher. Once the EMT was out for the count, Stella drove off. She drove to a vacant house area and dropped off the EMT. She then proceeded to the meeting spot to pick up the male EMT.

Maura

At 9 AM Jane was escorted out of her hospital room to the waiting ambulance. Maura, Amelia and Nina were all there to see her off. Amelia said goodbye first and stepped aside for Nina to say goodbye. After Nina handed Jane and envelope with her phone number in it, she stepped beside Amelia and let Maura say goodbye. Jane smiled at Nina knowing what was inside the envelope. Maura handed Jane her discharge papers and told her to call when she arrived safely in Boston. Maura had placed her business card with her home and cell numbers on it on top of the discharge papers.

Frost said goodbye to all three doctors while Jane was secured into the ambulance. Right before they closed the ambulance doors, Maura climbed into the ambulance. She had talked with Amelia and Nina and the three of them agreed that Jane needed to be sedated for the trip.

Jane thought that Maura just wanted to say an extra goodbye so she was happy that Maura had climbed into the ambulance. That was until she saw Maura take the syringe out of her pocket. "Jane, Doctors Sheppard and Holiday and I discussed it and we believe it is best that you be sedated for your journey."

Jane went to say something but just smiled at Maura. As Maura administered the sedative, Jane told her, "Thank you for everything Maura. I has been a pleasure getting to know you and I hope to see you in Boston soon."

Maura smiled at Jane and said, "I have to finish out Charlie's court administered punishment and then maybe I can look to moving back to Boston. I will let you know if I decide to move back." With that Maura stepped out of the ambulance and Stella in disguise stepped into the back of the ambulance for the first half of the journey. The plan was that she would drive for the second half of the trip.

Frost double tapped that back of the ambulance and it slowly pulled out of the ambulance bay. Frost waved goodbye to the doctors and hopped inside his unmarked cruiser and followed the ambulance.

Frost had planned the trip knowing that the ambulance would need to stop about half way to Boston to take a bathroom break and switch drivers. He figured the eastern side of Albany would make for a perfect place to stop. They would almost be to the state line by then and half of their trip would be over.

Maura had told Frost that Jane would be out for the first leg of the trip and most likely wake up during the second leg of the trip. She didn't want Jane to be out for too long as it might be dangerous for her health. The paramedics could sedate her if needed for the second leg of the trip however she decided that she would like to make that determination herself after speaking with Frost.

Wednesday Afternoon

As the ambulance passed through Albany, Frost radioed the ambulance to tell them to stop at the next rest area right before the Berkshire Connector exit. The rest area had a gas station, fast food restaurants, vending machines and bathrooms and they could avoid getting on and off of the highway in city traffic. Frost loved the NY Thruway rest areas.

When the ambulance came to a stop, one paramedic started gassing up the ambulance while the other checked on Jane. Frost gassed up his cruiser and then went to use the restroom after moving his vehicle away from the gas pump. When he returned, he only saw the female paramedic. He didn't think too much about it because he thought the male paramedic might have gone to the restroom, after all that is why they stopped.

The ambulance was now parked besides Frost's cruiser. He went to check on Jane and discovered the male paramedic face down on the floor of the ambulance. He climbed into the ambulance and found that the male paramedic was alive, he then checked on Jane who was fine. He knew immediately that something was wrong. He drew his weapon as he climbed out of the ambulance to find the female paramedic. He didn't see her until it was almost too late. Frost saw her reflection in the window and turned and shot her in the shoulder right as she was about to stab him.

The paramedic was determined to kill Frost and attempted to stab him again. Several people had noticed the situation and called the police. Frost was able to get a second shot off disabling the paramedic. He removed the knife from her hand and checked for a pulse, there was a faint pulse, she was nearly dead. He handcuffed her and immediately climbed into the ambulance to check on Jane who was still out due to the sedation, he made sure she had a pulse and just sat with Jane holding her hand until the police arrived.

He was worried that the female paramedic might have gotten back to Jane while he was searching for her.

While the police were moving the female paramedic her wig was partially removed and Frost saw that it was Stella. He knew that she was still a threat however he had no idea when he left Syracuse that Stella was the female paramedic.

It took about half an hour to clear the scene. Jane had woken up and was wondering what was going on. Frost explained to Jane and she was visibly upset. Frost called Maura and explained what had happened. Jane wanted to speak to Maura so Frost passed her the phone. "Jane, are you okay?" Maura asked concerned for Jane's well-being.

"Yes, I am fine, as you know I was sedated. I did not wake up until it was all over. Frost has a minor cut, he will need a new shirt but we are both okay. It was Stella, I can't believe she planned this. I have no idea where she was going to take me. Frost said that she said that I was hers and that she would take care of me. I guess she was going to take off with me in the ambulance after taking Frost out. I am so happy he is okay. He needed a few stiches. He is talking with the police right now, he wants to get back to Boston. I think he is trying to talk them into letting us go."

"How will he take you home, if the ambulance is part of a crime scene?"

"I overheard him saying something about stretching me out in the backseat of his cruiser and taking me to Boston. I guess that would work, the backseats are pretty spacious."

"I don't know Jane. I would feel more comfortable if you could lay down."

"I would be fine, doc. I just want to get back to Boston. I know I have to spend a few days in the hospital there but it would still be nice to be back in Boston."

Frost climbed back into the ambulance and asked, "Are you still talking to Doctor Isles?"

"Yes, do you need to talk to her?" She politely asked as she covered the phone with her broken wrist, not knowing that it wouldn't really cover her conversation with Frost that well.

"Yes, please." Frost replied as he put his hand out to receive the phone.

Jane addressed Maura before she handed Frost the phone, "Okay, doc, Frost wants to speak to you. I will talk with you later and thank you again for everything. Tell Charlie and Bella I said hello."

"I will do that Jane, bye." Jane handed the phone to Frost.

"Doctor Isles, the police have released Jane and I. I plan to make her as comfortable as possible and transport her to Boston in my cruiser. I do not want to wait around for another ambulance crew to get here. Do we need to have Jane sedated again?" Jane heard him and made a face, she didn't want to be sedated again.

"No, she should be okay. I have a feeling she will fall asleep once you get down the road a little bit and away from the rest area. Just please make her as comfortable as possible and call me when you arrive safely at the hospital."

"Will do doc, that should be in about two and a half hours. I will talk with you then. Bye!"

"Bye Frost and drive safe." With that they both disconnected the call. Frost had a few officers help him take the gunnery out of the ambulance and move Jane into the back of his cruiser. He took all the blankets and pillows from the ambulance and also used the emergency pillow and blanket that he carried in his trunk of his cruiser.

Once they had Jane situated and Frost made sure that the lead detective at the scene had all of his contact information, they left the rest area. He prayed that the next two and half hours would be uneventful.

Wednesday Night

About three hours after leaving the rest stop, Frost and Jane arrived at the hospital. Jane was immediately admitted and Frost called Maura. "Frost, it is so good to hear from you."

"Hey doc, we arrived and Jane has been admitted. She is wiped out and immediately went to sleep when they got her settled in her bed. The doc that completed her intake said she is good. Her blood pressure was a little elevated but he said under the circumstances that is understandable. They will check on her every half hour, the blood pressure will be checked automatically every fifteen minutes and the machine will report her findings to the nurses' station. I am going to stay with her tonight and make sure everything is okay with her."

"Thank you, Frost."

"You are welcome doc, I will talk to you later."

The hospital has set a bed up for Frost in the room, which Frost was very thankful for. He was ready to go to sleep. A Boston police officer was also stationed outside the door, just to be on the safe side.

Maura was relieved that Jane made it to Boston safely, she was worried after everything that had happened at the rest area. She was also sad because Jane was no longer at her hospital and should wouldn't be able to see her.