Meghan hadn’t been home from the hospital for 15 minutes when her doorbell rang. Eric and Jared, firefighters from Station 36’s B shift, stood at her door, arms full of grocery sacks. “Come in! You can set those on the table or in the kitchen.”

They came into her apartment and set down the grocery sacks. “We got you a few more things than your list said,” Jared explained.

“I can see that,” Meghan replied, looking at all the men had brought as they helped her put the groceries away.

“The guys said you needed some cookies and some orange juice, and there’s a rotisserie chicken and a few frozen dinners that actually taste good, so you don’t have to cook if you get tired. Here,” Eric replied, handing Meghan a big manila envelope.

She opened it and stared at the cards and several gift cards to restaurants in the area. “Some of the other stations wanted to pitch in, so they got some restaurant gift cards.”

Jared finished putting groceries away in her fridge. “I think that’s it. Someone from A-shift will be by in the morning to pick you up. I think it was Roy who said he was coming? Anyway, you’ll have a ride to breakfast at the diner with everyone. Oh! And I was supposed to ask if you were allowed to drive?”

Meghan nodded. “Yeah, I just need to get over to the DMV to pick up a temporary handicap tag, but I’m able to drive.”

Eric smiled. “That’s good. But if you need a ride, just let us know.” He pointed to the envelope. “There’s a list of names and phone numbers in case you need something.”

“If something comes up, I’ll call,” she promised. She thanked the men, saw them out, and sank down on the couch. She still had trouble wrapping her head around all of the assistance she was receiving, but at the same time was grateful for it. She was tired.

Knowing Rick would be back soon to take her to dinner, she headed for her bedroom. Clothing options! It was so nice to have them again after more than a week in a hospital gown.

She knew she didn’t need to change clothes to go to dinner, but the pants she was wearing were uncomfortable on her leg and she wanted to change. She eventually settled on a long skirt but kept the same top. Dressed, she looked through clothes and debated on what to wear to breakfast in the morning.

She was debating between a puzzle book or knitting when Rick arrived. She blushed as she accepted the huge bouquet of multicolored roses he brought. “Those are gorgeous! Here, just set it on the table.”

Rick obliged and then turned and gave her a long hug. “I’m so glad to have you home,” he whispered, raw emotion choking his words.

Meghan leaned into the hug. “It’s good to be home,” she replied. She cleared her throat against the hoarseness that still marred her voice.

They eventually broke their embrace. “Do we still need to swing by the store after dinner?” Rick asked, as Meghan picked up her purse and swung it over the shoulder not already sporting her oxygen pack.

Meghan laughed. “The fire guys were here about 15 minutes after you dropped me off. I think they brought enough food to last me a month!” She went to the fridge and opened it, revealing overloaded shelves.

Rick chuckled. “Yes, I think you’re set! In fact, I may need to come over for a few meals to help you eat it before it spoils.”

Meghan readily agreed. “Yeah, you might be getting some dinner invites in the near future.”

Rick opened the door and held it for her. Meghan locked it, and they made their way to his car in the parking lot. “I bet you’re glad to be on the ground floor!”

Meghan climbed in the car and buckled her seatbelt. “Am I ever! I’m glad I’m not needing any kind of mobility device to get around anymore, but even so, I don’t even want to think about climbing a bunch of stairs anytime soon.”

Rick drove them to the restaurant, and they were able to get a semi-quiet table farther back in the building. They ordered their dinners, ate and enjoyed each other’s company. Finally full, they just sat and enjoyed conversation while nursing their drinks.

“That was so good! I’m stuffed,” Meghan exclaimed. “Thank you for dinner, Rick.”

“Oh, you’re very welcome! I’m so glad to have you out of the hospital.” He sighed in satisfaction and leaned back in his chair. “Now that you are home, what’s your plans?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” she admitted. “I’ve got breakfast in the morning with the fire guys – someone’s coming to pick me up. I think I’ll get them to drop me off at the station so I can get my gear and my car. And I want to at least swing in to the college sometime this week, say hi. I’m not cleared to go back to work for the rest of the week, but I’m hoping to be back to help out next week.”

Rick looked a bit concerned. “Do you think your voice and breathing are adequate enough for you to be lecturing?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. But Fred is there the entire time, and he can switch me off if I need it. And, if nothing else, I can help with mentoring skills practice. But I won’t know what I can do unless I try.”

“Have they said anything about your voice?” Rick asked.

“I’ve asked them about it a couple of times,” Meghan replied. “While they can’t tell me how long it will take, they said that my voice will return to some semblance of normal. At least they didn’t tell me not to talk!” She laughed.

Rick chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t see that going over well.”

Meghan was ready to go when Roy knocked on her door around 7:30 the next morning. She was relieved to find that her EMS pants were comfortable enough to wear with her leg bandaged, and she had pulled on a department t-shirt. Her boots were too uncomfortable, so she stuck with tennis shoes.

“Good morning!” she said, opening the door.

“Good morning, Meghan. I’m Roy from A-shift. Ready for some breakfast?” He smiled as she shut the door behind her and locked it. “I’m parked over here,” he indicated as he led her to his car.

“I’m hungry,” she confirmed, and settled into the seat as he held the door for her.

The drive was short, and they chatted about work-related stuff while on the way.

Meghan was greeted royally at the restaurant. Members from all of the fire shifts, as usual, had joined B-shift today, and the on-duty EMS crew had joined them. Soon, everyone was enjoying coffee and food was starting to arrive from the kitchen.

Brandi came over and gave Meghan a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“Doing pretty good. The leg is itching, so I’m taking that as a sign that it’s continuing to heal. The nasal cannula, though, is annoying,” she said, as she reached up and adjusted it in her nose.

Brandi laughed. “Are you using any humidified oxygen on your home machine?”

Meghan nodded. “It helps.”

“By the way, would you like me to have someone drive your car home for you?”

Meghan shook her head. “I was actually going to get someone to drop me off at the station so I can get my car and my stuff. I need to get my backpack, if nothing else.”

Brandi nodded. “I’ve got it in a pile in the classroom, waiting for you. As long as I don’t get called out before you leave, I’ll bring you to the station myself.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

Brandi eventually moved off to chat with others. Meghan ate, drank coffee, and fielded questions. But when it came time to pay, her ticket was swiped by one of the firefighters. “C’mon, guys. I can buy my own breakfast,” she protested.

“Nope. Not today,” was the smug answer she got in response.

“Really, I can cover my own tab.”

“When you come back to a breakfast on duty, we’ll let you pay. Until then, tough!” Thom laughed, having heard the exchange.

Meghan grumbled under her breath good-naturedly but gave in. Thom clapped her on the back, and went to pay for his own meal. Brandi and Roy both came over to Meghan’s side.

“Roy, Brandi is going to give me a ride to my car, so I don’t need a ride home,” Meghan explained to him.

“Sure? One of the guys would be happy to pick up your car and drive it home for you.”

“Nah, I’m cleared to drive, and I need to get my stuff from the station, anyway. Thanks again for the ride in this morning.”

“You’re welcome. If you need anything…”

“I’ll holler, I promise.” Meghan smiled, shook his hand, and stood. She slung her purse and her oxygen compressor over her shoulder. She looked at Brandi. “Ready to go if you are.”

Once at the station, Brandi headed for her office while Meghan made her way into the common area. The two ambulance crews had already made it back. Jerry got up when Meghan entered.

“Did you stow away with Brandi, Squirt?” he chuckled. He gave her a hug.

“Oh, absolutely. I let her kidnap me from the fire guys,” she responded.

He chuckled. “It’s good to see you, even if you’re worse for wear. Of course, you’re cutting into my social life again,” he complained good-naturedly.

“Well, I hope you’ll forgive me… again,” Meghan said, softly.

The teasing expression quickly left Jerry’s face. “Come over here and sit down, Squirt.” He led her to the couch and, waiting for her to sit down, settled beside her. “You know I’m just teasing, right?”

“Oh, I know that,” she replied. “There’s just been a lot of unwanted and unnecessary fuss being made over what I did. I don’t feel like I was particularly brave, to be honest; rather, I did something very stupid and got myself hurt because of it.”

“Well, I don’t know about brave or stupid, but you did what needed to be done, and gave me more grey hairs while you were doing it. So how are you recovering? What did they say was the extent of everything?”

“And here I thought your grey hair was because you were getting old,” Meghan retorted. “I’m recovering well, they say. Had second degree burns on my neck, and those have pretty much healed.” She pulled down the neckline of her t-shirt to show him.

“My left leg had second- and third-degree burns. I’ve got a skin graft just a little bit bigger than my fist, and the burn area covers most of my calf. The second-degree burns have just about healed, but it’s going to be another couple of weeks on the graft, they tell me.”

“What about the smoke inhalation?” he asked.

“Well, aside from still dealing with the vocal cord injury that affects my voice, I’m still struggling to keep my oxygen levels above 95% without the supplemental oxygen. They don’t know how long that will last, but said it may be a month or so on oxygen.” She sighed.

“They obviously won’t let you back on the rig while on oxygen. What about the teaching gig?”

“I don’t know yet,” she said. “They haven’t said I can’t teach or shouldn’t teach. I need to get over to the college, discuss with Fred. I’m hoping to get back to work next week, though.”

Jerry nodded. Brandi poked her head around the corner, and spotted Meghan. “Hey, got a minute before you need to head out?”

“What? We didn’t chat enough on the way over?” Meghan teased. She stood. “Remind me to rope you into working for me at the next NREMT test date.”

“Only if you feed me,” Jerry retorted. “Go see what Brandi needs.”

Meghan entered the office area and took a seat in front of Brandi’s desk. “What’s up?”

Brandi smiled. “Did I overhear something about you’re still going to be teaching at the college while you recover?”

Meghan shrugged. “Planned to. I’ve not been told I can’t. Why?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d still be able to teach at the staff meeting in 2 weeks.”

Meghan nodded. “I don’t see that being an issue. I’ve got it on my calendar already.”

“Any plans yet for what you were going to cover?”

“I was planning on covering advanced airways for the skills station, but hadn’t fully decided on what to cover for the lecture portion. Want me to cover respiratory emergencies?”

Brandi nodded. “I was going to suggest that or burn care. Not completely biased on what you’ve been experiencing, I want you to understand. But it is timely. Here,” she said, handing Meghan a piece of paper. “I’ve been working on a list of topics that I’d like to see covered at the meetings. I know you’ve been taking suggestions, and I don’t want to discount what others are saying they want covered. But this is some of the stuff I’ve been noticing are weak areas amongst the crews.”

Meghan nodded and glanced at the paper. “Those are some good suggestions, and some of the topics are also among the class suggestions I’ve gotten from the crews.”

Brandi leaned back in her chair. “I’m glad we introduced the education component to the staff meetings. I think they are helpful, and I’ve been getting good feedback from the classes you’ve been teaching.”

Meghan smiled. “That’s good to know. I’ve not seen too many bored faces so far.” She laughed. “I think I’m going to turn it into a friendly competition of sorts this next class.”

As much as Meghan tried, she couldn’t sneak into the classroom when she stopped by the next day. Fred was definitely not expecting to see her, as evidenced by his shock at seeing her causing him to stop mid-sentence in his lecture to his paramedic class.

“Meghan, what on earth are you doing here?” he asked. The students turned to look at Meghan.

“Oh, just stopping in for a little while. Wanted to chat whenever you guys go on break,” she replied.

Andy, one of the students raised his hand. “Um, Meghan, what happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Meghan sighed, and looked at Fred, who motioned for her to go ahead. “Um, I got some burns and ate smoke at a fire scene. I’m recovering, but need oxygen for a while.”

Susan, another student, asked about her voice.

“My vocal cords were affected by the heat and smoke. They will heal, and my voice will go back to normal, so I’ve been told.”

She fielded another half-dozen questions before escaping and making her way into the office. She sat down in her chair, sighed, and turned on her computer and pulled up her email. She was almost done clearing out her backlog when Fred came in and took a seat in his chair.

“I sent them on break,” he said. “You surprise me. I figured you’d be home recovering, not trying to sneak into the office.”

“I’m already tired of being stuck at home,” she admitted. “I thought I’d enjoy being able to recoup at home, do some knitting, sleep in, that kind of thing. Nope. Woke up this morning feeling stir-crazy. So I’m here to bug you.”

“Your voice sounds like it hurts,” he remarked.

“It actually doesn’t. It did the day after I was extubated, but I think that was from the tube, not the damage to my vocal cords.”

“And your burns? How are they doing?”

“Still healing well, they tell me. The second-degree burns are pretty much healed, so it’s just the graft that’s still in progress.” She sighed. “I’ve transported burn patients before and never fully understood the pain and difficulties they faced with the healing process.”

“Wanna teach the burn chapter for the students?” Fred joked. He held up his hands in mock surrender at the look she gave him. “Just joking!”

“I swear you and Brandi must communicate,” she muttered.

“Back to your voice… how are you doing with communicating? Knowing you, I’m guessing you’re still thinking you can teach while you heal up.”

Meghan nodded. “I think I should be able to lecture. My voice sounds bad, but I’m not noticing issues with talking. And as long as I have the oxygen, I’m doing okay there.”

“Okay,” Fred sighed. “Why don’t you give yourself the rest of the week before teaching again?”

“That was my plan,” she replied. “I’ll probably come in tomorrow as well to work on lesson plans – I’ve got the staff meeting class to plan out.” She pulled out her planner and flipped through to next week. “Um, Fred…”

“What?”

“The burn chapter is scheduled for next week.”

“Well, what do you know?” he chuckled. She swung at his shoulder and tapped him with her planner. “Guess you get to help teach it anyway!”