Meghan was starting to feel exhausted, but she had promised to stop by and see Kelsey at least, so she headed to her sister’s home.

Meghan arrived, got out, and rang the doorbell. Kelsey answered it promptly. “Sis! What happened to you? I expected you much earlier.”

Meghan smiled, yawned, and entered the house behind her sister. “Well, my evening got very busy, and ended in a detour to the ER. By the way, Rick said to say hi, and Mitch said he’ll be off at 11 tonight.” She stopped suddenly at the doorway leading into the living room. Dr. Meyers was sitting in one of the chairs, and he stood as the sisters entered the room.

“Hello, Meghan.” His pleased expression changed to one of concern. “Are you okay?”

Inwardly, Meghan groaned. She was sure she looked a mess, and had forgotten all about the late meeting with another potential date at her sister’s house that evening. She did her best to try to pull herself together. “Hi, Dr. Meyers. Yeah, I’m okay. There was an incident at the burn building on campus tonight, and I’ve been helping with the rescue. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to borrow a bathroom and try to get a bit more presentable.”

Kelsey caught the unspoken plea and gestured towards the master bedroom. “Give us just a few minutes, Kevin.”

“No problem, ladies. I’ll wait.” He sat back down, and the gals escaped to the bedroom.

Meghan made a beeline for the bathroom and laughed at her reflection. “Man, don’t I look a sight! Helmet hair, soot smudges everywhere, and I smell like I fought that fire! Sis, where do you keep the washcloths again, and can I borrow your brush?”

Kelsey was already digging out a washcloth and pointed towards her brush. “Here’s a washcloth, and facewash is next to the sink. So how are you, really?” She closed the lid to the toilet and sat down.

Meghan turned the water on and let it heat up. “Aside from my blood pressure deciding to tank on the way in, I managed to get a huge splinter in my calf. Otherwise, I’m fine. Mitch fixed me up with an IV, and Rick was there and took care of my leg.”

“Oh, sis,” Kelsey said, part aggravated and part affectionate. “Did you pass out?”

Meghan shook her head as she ran a soapy cloth over her face and arms. “No, Jerry caught it while we were riding in. I’m relieved that I didn’t, to be honest. It’s embarrassing when it happens.” She splashed water on her face, rinsing off the soap, and toweled dry. She reached for the brush, grunting as she hit a tangled section.

“I’d ask about the incident itself, but I figure Kevin will ask, so I’ll spare you telling the story twice.” Kelsey saw her sister was about done, so she stood. “Ready?”

Meghan sighed and glanced at her appearance in the mirror. “Still not clean, but better than before, and I guess that’s as good as it’s gonna get. Sure.”

The sisters exited the bedroom and joined Kevin in the living room. “Anybody want something to drink?” Kelsey asked. Kevin declined, but Meghan asked for water, which Kelsey brought over as they began chatting.

“So, what happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Meghan smiled at Kevin. “I don’t know if you knew, but I also teach two EMT classes at the community college.”

“No, I didn’t know that! That must be interesting, having the opportunity to pass along your knowledge to the next generation of EMTs.”

Meghan nodded. “It’s very rewarding. Anyway, the college has many different programs, including a fire and rescue academy. Whenever there’s an emergency at the school, the EMS and Fire instructors are the emergency response team. Tonight, there was an emergency at the burn building. That’s where the fire trainees have the opportunity to practice skills in a ‘controlled’ environment,” she said, using air quotes when she said “controlled”.

“What happened?” Kelsey asked.

Meghan took a sip of her water. “A trainee wound up legit trapped by debris in one of the rooms. I was summoned, and wound up acting as the mole while they extricated him. A large board had splintered, and punctured his leg between the knee and the tib-fib. We had to cut that down, and then dig him out.”

Kevin seemed impressed. “That’s a pretty serious impalement. Was he doing okay when you left him in the ER?”

Meghan nodded. “Yes, he was alert the whole time, and was being prepped for surgery when I left.”

“So, then what happened to you? I noticed the coban on your arm, and the bandaging on your leg,” he explained.

“Well, I tripped over some of the stuff in the room before we headed out, and apparently what I thought was a sprained ankle wound up being a large splinter that had to be removed and twenty stitches put in. They gave me an IV to bring up my blood pressure, which decided to tank on me on the way to the hospital. But I got to go home, so that’s the main thing.”

Kevin nodded. Kelsey knew that Meghan didn’t want the focus of the conversation to be about her injury, so she changed the subject. “Kevin, how is work going? I’m missing my work.” Kelsey smiled.

“Oh, things are going well, but we miss you on the ward. Any idea as to when you might be coming back?”

“No,” she admitted. “However, I’m supposed to be heading back to light duty next week. I think they’re going to stick me in the education department for a while, but I’m going to try to see if I can get back to a telemetry position or something soon.”

Meghan grinned. “That’s great, sis! I’ll have to come bug you sometimes when I’m dropping off someone.”

Kelsey laughed. “Be careful! I’ve heard the educators are trying to rope people into instructor certifications so they have more warm bodies.”

Meghan nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sure. But then again, I already hold most of those certifications. What am I talking about?! I’ve got too much on my plate already!”

The three chuckled. Meghan, knowing that she might as well broach the subject they’d avoided so far, cleared her throat. “So, ah, Dr. Meyers. What brings you by tonight? I know my sister is good company, and all…”

Kelsey play-punched Meghan’s shoulder, and Kevin laughed. “Please call me Kevin, Meghan. I actually was invited over to meet a nice gal who might be a good date.”

“Oh, okay.” Meghan mustered. “I’m sorry that your first impression wasn’t a very clean one. Tonight was not what I was expecting.”

Kevin laughed. “Hey – that’s the nature of the beast. I know that I don’t always look fresh as a daisy sometimes when I get home after a long shift. You’re allowed. Besides, I’ve seen you looking better than tonight, so you haven’t scared me off.”

Meghan smiled and relaxed a bit. “Still, I would’ve liked to have been more presentable. By the way, I should also say thank you that you stuck around and waited. I was a bit indisposed to call Kelsey and tell her I’d be late.”

“Once again, no worries. Anyone who works in this field and expects strict punctuality is crazy.”

“Just wait until you’ve planned a breakfast date and I’m 3 hours late because I caught a late call,” Meghan warned. Kevin laughed again.

“So… speaking of a date, would you be interested?” Kevin asked.

“Sure, why not? I’ll even make sure to have showered and brushed my hair beforehand,” Meghan replied.

“That would be nice,” Kevin replied, winking. “What’s your schedule like?”

“Well, I just found myself with a couple of days off. Otherwise, I actually have a rare Saturday free this week. Otherwise, I’d need to consult my planner and get back with you.” Meghan finished her glass of water and set the cup on the end table.

“I’m on surgical rotation this week, but I too have Saturday free. Care to do lunch or dinner?”

“Hmmm. How about a late lunch, say around 2? I take advantage of my rare free Saturday mornings and sleep in,” Meghan replied, yawning.

Kevin chuckled. “I tend to do so myself. Okay, so a late lunch it is. Anyplace in particular you want to go?”

Meghan shook her head. “I’m not too picky, but I will warn you that I don’t handle a lot of spicy stuff well, so maybe avoid the Thai or Indian places.”

Kevin smiled widely. “I’m not into spicy places either. I know of a great place. It’s nice, but business casual is fine. Shall I pick you up at your place around 1:30, then?”

Meghan yawned again. “Sounds good.” She gave Kevin her address, then stood. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I need to get home before I fall asleep while driving. Kevin, it was good to see you again, and I’ll see you Saturday.”

Kevin stood and nodded. “No worries. You’ve had a busy evening, and it is getting late. Kelsey, thanks for inviting me over. Tell Mitch – “

The front door opened, and Mitch walked in. He was dressed in scrubs and looked tired. “Kelsey?”

“In the living room, hon!”

Mitch entered the room and saw the company. “Ah. That explains all the cars. I don’t think I blocked anyone in. Hi Kevin. Hello again, Meghan.”

Kevin shook his hand, and Meghan accepted the hug Mitch gave her. Kevin spoke. “I was just about to head out. We should get together sometime soon.” He smiled as he grabbed his jacket from where it was draped over the couch. Kelsey saw him out the door, then came back into the living room.

Meghan yawned again. “Okay, I need to head home.”

Mitch looked at her. “Meghan, do you have a couple more minutes? There’s something I need to talk with you about.”

“I can manage a little longer. What’s up?”

Mitch gestured to the seating area in the living room, and the three made their way to their usual spots, Kelsey and Mitch in their armchairs, and Meghan on the couch. Mitch looked intently at Meghan. “Meghan, we need to get you checked out about this recurrent low blood pressure.”

She nodded and sighed. “You’re right. This is starting to interfere and be an issue with work, although they haven’t come out and said it. What all is entailed, potentially, in trying to diagnose this?”

“Well, if you don’t mind my being your doctor for this, I would want to start with a comprehensive set of labwork, another physical exam, and go from there. Based on those findings, we’ll investigate further.”

Meghan nodded. “That’s what I figured. Do we need to do it tonight, or can it wait?”

“No, not tonight. We both want some sleep.” Meghan nodded, gratefully. “I’m off work tomorrow. Do you have anything on your schedule?”

Meghan thought for a minute. “Well, I’m off thanks to that doctor’s note that you wrote. Bob was gracious enough to fax a copy to the EMS office, and I spoke with Brandi while driving over here, so I’m now off the schedule until Monday – she wants me well-rested and ready to go. However, I do need to spend a couple hours at the college sometime tomorrow so I can fill out all of the incident paperwork and worker’s comp forms.”

Mitch listened to her rattle off her day’s activity or lack thereof and smiled. “Tell you what: if you can wait to go to the college until after lunch, why don’t you come over around 9 or so in the morning tomorrow. We’ll do some fasting labwork and I’ll do another exam, then I’ll treat you gals to lunch. How’s that sound?”

Meghan nodded. “That’ll work, although I’m requesting a coffee break between the labs and the exam!”

Mitch and Kelsey both chuckled. “Deal, kiddo. Okay, go home and get some sleep! We’ll see you at 9.”

They saw Meghan off and headed to bed. Meghan drove carefully home and headed for bed as quickly as she could.