Meghan gingerly stepped into her sister’s home on crutches, praying she didn’t fall over. Believe it or not, those things took more coordination than she ever thought they would.

“Meghan! I am so glad to see you! You had me worried!” Kelsey bounded up to her and folded her gently in a bear hug.

“Sorry, sis. I promise I’ll make the next car ask you before it tries to run me over,” Meghan protested, hugging her sister back.

Kelsey stepped back and led Meghan into the living room. “Sit down before you fall down. Do you need anything? A pillow or something?”

Meghan laughed. “No, I’m fine now that I’m off my feet.” She looked around the room. “Wow! The place is looking great, sis. Sorry I haven’t been by sooner to see what all you’ve been up to.”

Kelsey perched next to her on the couch. “Hey, no worries. I know you’ve been busy teaching the EMT classes. But now you’re here, and you’re our guest. We’re here to help you recoup for a few days.”

Mitch came in with a couple of bags in hand. “Kelsey, I got the supplies. Want me to set them on the cabinet or somewhere else?”

“The cabinet by the sink will be fine,” Kelsey confirmed, as he left the room. “Oh, I’ve missed you!” She gave her sister another hug.

“And I’ve missed you too. Both of you,” Meghan added, seeing Dr. Branston reenter the room and plop down into a nearby armchair. “But are you sure you want me to stay with you? I could always…”

“Now, young lady, you have been welcomed into our home to stay as long as you need to. We’re happy to do so and won’t hear of anything else,” Mitch said, somewhat sternly.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Branston,” Meghan said somewhat contritely. She was suddenly back to the formality of her days before he had become part of the family.

“Please, Meghan, it’s Mitch. We’re family, and families take care of each other. I’m sure if the tables were turned you’d do everything you could for Kelsey.”

Meghan nodded, then yawned, a fact that did not go unnoticed by her sister and brother-in-law.

“Mitch, why don’t we get Meghan settled, and then you can get your shower while I fix a little food.” Kelsey stood.

Mitch nodded. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.” He helped Meghan to her feet. “Meghan, we’re going to settle you in the mother-in-law suite. I believe we have told you we did some remodeling?”

Meghan nodded. “Yeah, I remember you saying something about that. I’m assuming you finished the remodel and I’m not going to be sleeping on sheetrock dust.”

Mitch laughed. “No, no sheetrock dust. The renovations are done. With having the large house and additional space, I wanted to create a home office, so that’s what we did.”

Meghan glanced his way. “I hope that I won’t be pushing you out of your office, then.”

“No, you won’t. It’s right through here.” Mitch opened a door and ushered her through. “This is it.”

Meghan stepped into a small room that had a few nicely cushioned chairs, plants, etc. The room led to a short hallway with three doors. She glanced at Mitch and Kelsey, who were both smiling.

“Let me give you the grand tour, Meghan. In here,” Mitch said, opening the first door, “is my office.”

The room was generous, with a large desk, generous bookshelves crammed with multicolored tomes, and a computer tucked on one side. A pair of comfortable leather chairs were placed on the opposite side of the desk, and in the corner was tucked a full-size skeleton. “I see Bones found a home here,” Meghan chuckled.

“Yes, he did. He keeps me company while I work.” Mitch ushered her out of the office and led her past the second door to the third at the end of the hall. “Now here is where you’ll be staying while you’re with us. He opened the door and stood back.

Meghan entered the room… and froze. This was not like a typical guest room at your house. There were two twin beds, but there were also bed rails, bed trays, and a curtain that could be pulled the length of the room, separating the two beds. She also thought she spotted a commode tucked in one corner. “Uh, Mitch? Kelsey? Something you’re not telling me here?”

“Well, as I said, I wanted a home office… a doctor’s office. I have a few people that I see on the side as a general practitioner, and sometimes we need a place for a patient to recover from a procedure, so we designed this room. There is a connecting bathroom between this room and the exam room.”

“We knew you would want to go to your apartment, but you can’t right now, sis. You need us to look after you, and we really need a clinical setting to do it properly. Just trust us, sis, we have your best intentions at heart,” Kelsey pleaded.

Meghan took in the room again, then looked at her family. “All right, I’ll stay. This is just a bit of a… shock. That’s all. Totally not what I was expecting when you were telling me about the remodel.” She shifted uncomfortably. “So… which bed is mine?”

Kelsey let out a held breath and smiled. Her sister may be stubborn, but she also knew to roll with the punches when necessary. “Take your pick. I made them both up just in case you had a preference.”

Meghan opted for the left bed, closer to the bathroom. Mitch excused himself to shower and left Kelsey to settle Meghan in.

“Meghan, I’ll go over to your place tomorrow to pick up some clothes and stuff for you. I wish I could lend you something of mine, but…”

Meghan laughed. “I’m not fat by any means, but you’re a toothpick, sis!”

Kelsey laughed too. “Yeah, I know. What I meant to say is that we have a few hospital-style gowns if you don’t want to sleep in those scrubs tonight.”

Meghan made a face. “Man, you really know how to make a gal feel like company around here! I don’t think I want to change now, but I’ll take you up on one for tonight.”

Kelsey nodded. “Okay. Is there anything else you’d like me to get for you?”

Meghan thought for a moment. “Well, I’d like to have a couple of my knitting projects, and a bag of prunes.” She nodded meaningfully at Kelsey.

“Yeah, I can do that. We’ll talk through everything you need in the morning. Right now, I’ll let you know that there are some basic toiletries in the bathroom. You can’t shower with that splint, but I can bring you a bed bath if you want one.

“There is a call bell by your bed, plus one in the bathroom. It goes directly to our phones and our bedroom, so don’t hesitate to call if you need help.”

Meghan nodded as her sister told her about the safety arrangements in the room and such. Meghan yawned again.

“I’m going to go heat some soup for a light supper. Would you like to eat here, or join us in the dining room?” Kelsey asked.

“I think I’d rather eat here tonight, sis, if you don’t mind. I’m so tired!” Megan replied.

“Okay. Try to get a bit of a nap in. Oh! I almost forgot. We will be checking on you every couple of hours tonight due to the concussion. I know it sucks, but we just want to be careful.”

Meghan laid down on the bed and Kelsey tucked her in. “Get some rest, little sis.”

**********

Kelsey was in the kitchen, heating up some leftover soup when Mitch came in, toweling his hair. “Is she resting?”

“Yes. I don’t think her eyes were going to stay open much longer without a nap.” She reached for a loaf of bread for grilled cheese sandwiches to accompany the soup. “I doubt she’ll eat tonight, but if she’s hungry it’ll only take a few minutes to heat soup.”

"I suspect you’re right, but we need to keep some crackers and water in there for her at least. I don’t want her taking pain meds on an empty stomach.” Mitch set aside the towel, ignoring his unruly hair. Kelsey giggled and attempted to finger comb the unruly mess into some semblance of a style.

“I’m assuming you’re going to want to examine her.” It was a statement, not a question, as she knew her husband well.

“Yes, possibly tonight. She’s had a few hours for the adrenaline to wear off and for the bruises to really start popping up. Besides, I want to look at the sutures I had to put in on her legs and change the bandages.” Mitch sat down on a barstool to watch Kelsey finishing the sandwiches.

“Do you want to eat here at the counter or over in the dining room?” she asked.

“Here. No use messing up a second area of the house.” They ate in amicable quiet, each thinking about the events of the day.

“I’m planning to go by Meghan’s tomorrow, get her some clothes and her knitting. Oh, and she asked me to get her some prunes.” Kelsey eventually said.

Mitch took another bite of his sandwich, chewed, and swallowed. “Prunes? Did she say why?”

“No, but she gave me that look.” Kelsey looked at his questioning face. “Growing up, mom gave us prunes to eat instead of using laxatives or enemas. They generally did the trick. She didn’t say anything about being constipated, but then again I didn’t ask. But I thought you should know.”

Mitch just nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Finished?” Kelsey asked. He nodded, and she took their dishes to the kitchen. She glanced at the kitchen clock. “She’s been asleep about an hour and is due more pain meds. Should we go wake her and introduce her to your exam room?”

Mitch rose and put his arms around her. “Yes, I think we should. I’d like to at least check her over before letting her sleep the night.”