Rick had to give Meghan credit: she got about halfway through packing before succumbing to a nap. He chuckled when he found her curled up on her bed, clothes piled around her. He covered her with a nearby throw blanket and headed to the living room.

He relaxed on the couch and checked his phone for messages. Seeing Mitch had called, Rick dialed his friend’s number and listened to the phone ring. “Hey, Mitch. You rang?”

Just checking in on Meghan. I’ll be home in an hour. How’s she doing?

Rick glanced at her bedroom door. “Took her to eat and then we went to the jeweler’s. We’re at her place now to pack up, but she’s out like a light,” he said, amused. “I’ll give her an hour and then wake her up.”

Sounds like a plan. Kelsey’s making something for dinner. She wanted to know if you’d like to join us?

“Sure! I don’t turn down Kelsey’s or Meghan’s cooking.” Rick chuckled. “Say – I have a kind of personal question that I want to discuss with you sometime soon. Think you’ll be up for a discussion after dinner?”

I don’t see why not. You know my door’s always open, friend.

“Yeah, and I’m thankful for that.”

How’s the remodel coming? Mitch asked, changing the subject.

”Slowly, but then it’s just getting started. I thought I’d try to get Meghan over this weekend, give her the grand tour of my place, and then get her input on paint and cabinetry and such. Since it’s going to be part of her house too,” he chuckled.

Good idea. Hey, I’m being paged. We’ll chat more tonight.

“Bye.” Rick hung up the phone. He thought for a moment, and dialed Fred from the college. The two had made acquaintance during the EMT testing, and kept each other appraised on Meghan behind her back.

Hey, Dr. Brant! How’s it shaking?

“Oh, pretty good, pretty good. How’s your world?”

Can’t complain too loudly. Went fishing in that spot you told me about today, and caught a couple good-sized bass. What’s up?

“Meghan, as per usual.” Rick sighed. “Came to visit this morning, and wound up taking her to the ER.”

Oh, no. How’s she doing? Is she home or inpatient?

“She’s home, and headed to her in-laws for a few days to recoup. She caught pneumonia, but we caught it early.”

Rick could hear Fred sigh on the other end. Just what she needs. But didn’t they warn her this was a possibility, even after a couple weeks?

“Yes, they did. Listen, I’m going to try to get her to call in sick for Monday, but she really wants to be there Tuesday.”

Yeah, she’s supposed to be giving a lecture on burns, and teaching not only the EMTs, but the Fire Academy cadets as well. Worst case scenario, I coordinate with Brad and we move the lecture to Thursday to give her a bit more time.

Rick nodded. “I’ll do my best to get her to wait to come back until Thursday, but you know her.”

Yeah. Stubborn as a mule. Listen, thanks for the heads-up. I’ll give Brad a call this weekend so he can plan a contingency, just in case.

Rick said his goodbyes and hung up. He glanced at his watch and settled on the couch again and started returning emails.

Rick woke Meghan up after about an hour. “Hey, Meghan. You need to wake up sweetheart.” He looked lovingly at her face as she stirred, then became alarmed at how blue her lips looked. “Meghan? C’mon, I need you to wake up.”

She stirred some more, and pushed back the blanket. Rick disappeared into the bathroom just long enough to grab the pulse ox. He came back and slipped it onto her finger. It read only 88%. “Hang on – I’m bumping up your oxygen.”

He went to the concentrator in the living room to increase the oxygen flow, only to find that the machine wasn’t on. He turned it on, and the machine hummed to life. He went ahead and increased the oxygen to 4 liters per minute and returned to her side.

“Meghan, you didn’t turn your concentrator on when you switched from the portable to the main machine.”

“Oops!” she giggled, a bit disoriented. She looked at the clothes on the bed. “Was I changing clothes when I fell asleep?”

“No, honey. You’re packing to go stay at Mitch’s for a few days,” Rick gently reminded her. He was glad to see that her pulse ox reading was increasing as she got supplemental oxygen again.

“Oh, that’s right. Hmm. What was I deciding to bring?” Meghan was still a little loopy, but she was getting more oriented as her body got more oxygen again.

Meghan’s oxygen finally got into the normal range, and Rick helped her pack. Soon, she was ready to go. Rick made sure she was switched back to her portable unit and breathing oxygen before he turned off the large concentrator and unplugged it. “Wait here while I get this in the car,” he directed. Meghan nodded and sat down on the couch.

Rick got all of her stuff loaded in his car, got Meghan settled in the passenger seat, and headed for the Branstons’. “I’m glad you’re going to stay with them a few days.”

“Yeah, my track record with my oxygenation isn’t looking too good right now,” she agreed.

“Well, let’s just say that I want someone to keep an eye out for my gal,” Rick replied, chuckling. “And we both know that Mitch can give you IV antibiotics, which are a better delivery route for the antibiotics you need right now compared to oral.”

“Yeah. I just want to get over this pneumonia. And back to feeling 100%.”

Rick was thinking through some of the stuff he wanted to discuss with Mitch and with Meghan. “Say. Do you have any plans for Saturday?”

Meghan thought, and shook her head. “No. Why?”

Rick smiled. “I want to bring you to my house, show you around. I’m hoping you’ll like it for your future home. I’m doing some remodeling, as well, and want your input.”

“Oh, that would be nice! I’d love to come see the house.” Meghan smiled fondly. “Do I get to redecorate your bachelor pad?” she teased.

He chuckled. “We’ll see. One thing at a time, Megie,” he replied, trying out a nickname for her.

“Megie?” she asked, furrowing her forehead.

“Trying out a nickname, hon,” he replied.

“Ah. Not bad. I’ll have to come up with something for you.” Meghan’s eyes glinted mischievously.

“Hmm. Should I be afraid of that statement?” Rick asked, amused.

“Oh, absolutely!” She teased.

Dinner was lively, with lots of congratulations and excitement over both the ring and the engagement. When everyone was as full as a tick, they pushed back away from the table, grabbed coffee, and split off: Meghan and Kelsey to the living room, and Rick and Mitch to Mitch’s office.

“Sit down, Rick, and make yourself comfortable. I’m so happy for you and Meghan! Have you started talking about a wedding date yet?” Mitch settled in his office chair and leaned back.

Rick smiled but shook his head. “No, we haven’t gotten that far yet. Not really a good topic for discussion when you spend half the day in the ER.”

Mitch smiled wryly. “Good point. How was she this afternoon?”

“Pretty good, considering. Had a minor incident while we were at her apartment. She plugged in her portable unit and switched over to the large compressor, but forgot to turn it on. In case you’re curious, she’s still hanging around 88% on room air. She was pretty confused there for a bit until her oxygen came back up after I turned the unit on.”

Mitch shook his head. “Not they way I’d like to find that news out, but good to know, all the same.” He drank on his coffee. “So, you said you had something you’d like to discuss with me. What’s up?”

“When you and Kelsey got together, how did you transition it with her so that you became her primary doctor? How did you get her to allow you to do that for her, I guess is what I’m asking?”

Mitch looked at his friend, amused. “Aside from the obvious ‘I have an issue, hon, what do you think I should do?’” Rick nodded. “Well, she and I had a discussion about each other’s health, especially the intimate, personal issues. And I came out and told her I wanted to take care of her as much as I could. Now, we both know that my expertise has limits. If there’s something I can’t handle, I have to swallow my pride and say so, refer her to someone I know has the expertise and I trust with the precious person that is my wife.”

Rick nodded thoughtfully. “That’s understandable. And I know Meghan trusts you with her care. I know that my expertise is ortho, not emergency medicine or gyn, like you. But I’d like to think that I remember enough of my GP training from med school to be able to handle much of what I know about Meghan’s medical issues. And yes, call in consults when I come up short.”

“I think you’ll do fine,” Mitch encouraged. “And I’m always a phone call away if you have questions.”

Rick nodded again. “Is there anything you can tell me about her that would be good info to know?”

Mitch thought for a moment. “I don’t think she’s ever confided anything to me that I’d need to redact from you.”

“That’s good to know,” Rick replied, knowing there were some things that needed to stay within the confines of doctor-patient confidentiality.

“You’ve been with her through most of her physical ups and downs over the last year and a half, so I don’t think I need to explain about that. She has Addison’s of course, and now pneumonia. I think she is to see the burn team and pulmonology again on Wednesday, so you’ll probably be hearing back from that in the same timeframe as I will.

“The biggest things I personally keep on my radar with Meghan are her yearly physical exams and constipation issues. She’s about due for her well-woman exam, and I’ve treated her for constipation several times now.”

“Are you using laxatives, or a good, old-fashioned enema?” Rick asked, chuckling.

“Enemas,” Mitch replied, smiling. “You know as well as I do that they are the most effective.”

“Oh, yes,” Rick replied. “Mom and grandma knew as well, and made sure that us kids also knew.” He thought about that for a moment. “How does she tolerate them? Do you know if she grew up with them?”

Mitch shook his head. “I introduced Kelsey to them when we were engaged, and introduced Meghan to them last year. She’s not the most fond of them, but she has asked for them a couple of times when things get to be an issue, so she’s game.”

“I wonder if she’s ever given herself one?” Rick mused. “I’m not the most regular with them for myself, but they definitely solve the problem.”

“I doubt she has,” Mitch replied. “She does know how to give them, though – I taught her how to give one to Kelsey right before she received her first one.” He thought for a minute. “I’ll let you in on a ‘tell’ she has – when she gets really uncomfortable or embarrassed, she gets more formal. I’ll be Mitch until she starts getting embarrassed, and next thing she’ll be calling me Dr. Branston.”

Rick chuckled. “That’s good to know. Hmm.” He thought for a minute. “You said she is due for her physical soon?”

Mitch nodded. “Want to come watch, or, better, do it with a mentor if you’re feeling rusty?”

“Yeah, I’d like to do it for her with you to guide me if I forget something. Of course, she and I need to have that medical discussion, and sooner rather than later. Plus, it’d be nice to do that before I take her to my place Saturday and show her the remodel in progress.” Rick sighed.

“Yeah, that’d probably be a good idea,” Mitch agreed. “I would suggest a private place for the conversation, and not a coffee shop or restaurant. Heck, you’re free to use my office here if you like. Kelsey and I can keep to other parts of the house while you two talk.”

“I appreciate that, and I’ll take you up on it.” Rick pulled out his phone and pulled up his schedule. “I think I shot myself in the foot,” he groused. “I have tomorrow free, but then I’m on call through Friday. Grr.”

Mitch laughed. “Guess you’ll have to come over tomorrow, then. If I may make a suggestion?”

“Please do!”

“Take her to lunch tomorrow, and then bring her here afterward. Have your talk, and make plans to examine her if she’s willing. I’ve got everything you should need. And you and I can talk later about how you want to set up your home exam room at a later time, so you’re set for her – and you. She’s a paramedic, and can do more than you probably think she can. She can help you keep yourself on your toes.”