Kelsey was awake when Meghan crutched through the door. “Hey there, sis. How’re you feeling?”

Kelsey shifted in the bed. “I’ve been better. How are you?” She hissed as her arm shifted on the pillows, and Meghan shot her a sympathetic look.

Meghan sank into a chair beside Kelsey’s bed. “Aside from sore armpits, I’m fine, sis. I heard you had a rough night. Sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

Kelsey shook her head. “Mitch told me what happened, that you passed out and they admitted you overnight. No worries, sis.”

Meghan stretched. “Well, it wouldn’t have happened if I’d gotten my post-adrenaline pick-me-up.”

Kelsey looked at her sister disapprovingly. “Meghan, how many times must I tell you that Mountain Dew is unfit to drink? I’m sure Mitch would agree with me.”

Meghan opened her mouth to argue good-naturedly but was interrupted. “I’d agree with you about what, Kelsey?” Mitch, who had lagged behind, had just entered the room and thus missed the beginning of the conversation.

“That Meghan should find something other than Mountain Dew to drink for a pick-me-up.” Kelsey gave a weak smile.

Mitch just shook his head. “How come this doesn’t surprise me? But Kelsey’s right: that stuff is vile.”

Meghan looked caught. “Hey! I need a caffeine boost to combat adrenaline crashes, and coffee just doesn’t have enough. Besides, it’s Code Red Mountain Dew: the cherry flavor mostly makes up for the Mountain Dew.”

“And you have those how often?”

“A couple times a week,” Meghan hedged.

Mitch just shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

**********

They visited with Kelsey through dinner. When Kelsey’s tray arrived and the tech removed the cover, they all stared suspiciously at the entrée. Meghan poked it with a fork. “What is this supposed to be?”

Kelsey made a face. “I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look very appetizing.”

Meghan thought for a moment. “The cafeteria has some amazing chicken noodle soup. Dr. Scott had them get some for me last night. Would you like me to get you some?”

Kelsey nodded. “Sounds better than that,” she nodded towards the contents of the tray.

Mitch stood. “I’ll go get you some, hon. Meghan, want a bowl? I’ll bring some up for all of us.”

“Yes, thank you, Mitch.”

Mitch headed out of the door.

**********

Mitch returned with soup to the room, only to find Rick Brant had stopped by and was chatting with the sisters. “Hey, Rick!”

Rick looked up and smiled. “Let me guess: chicken soup from the cafeteria?”

Mitch nodded. “It sounded good to Kelsey, and I’m not above doing a little legwork to get something that is nutritious and appealing to her.”

Rick chuckled. “It’s definitely more appealing than the mystery meat on the trays.” He waited until Mitch had set down the food before tossing his keys at him. "Mitch, catch!”

Mitch caught his keys and added them back to his keychain. “Thanks, man.” He busied himself with removing the hospital tray from the bedside table and replacing it with soup and a spoon. Meghan reached over and opened the lid on the Styrofoam container.

A knock on the door sounded and Dr. Chris Rothman peeked his head in. “Mitch, do you have a moment?” Mitch nodded and rounded the bed, Rick at his heels.

“I’ll be just a moment, Kelsey.”

Meghan made a shooing motion. “Go take care of whatever Dr. Rothman wants. I’ll help Kelsey with the soup.” She was opening packets of crackers and tucking a towel under her sister’s chin. “Okay, let’s see if I remember how to do an airplane…”

Mitch laughed as he left Kelsey’s room. Rick was looking very amused. Dr. Rothman shook his head. “Did I just hear your sister-in-law say something about an airplane?” Mitch just nodded. Dr. Rothman turned his attention to the other doctor. “Good evening Rick. How are you this evening?” Dr. Rothman inquired.

“Oh, I’m doing well. Just visiting with Mitch and company. What’s up, Chris?” Rick asked.

“Why don’t we find a spot to sit down? My feet are killing me!” Chris Rothman complained. He led them to a nearby consult room. Once sitting, Chris pulled open a patient chart. “Mitch, I know you were hoping to bring Kelsey home tonight, but I don’t think she’s ready to go.”

Mitch sighed, ran fingers through his hair, but nodded. Rick looked at his friend with concern. “I’ll defer to your judgment, of course. What’s her current condition?”

Chris breathed a small sigh of relief. “I had another CBC run this afternoon, and her red blood cell and white blood cell counts are still on the low end of normal. Plus she’s developing a low-grade fever, so I’m going to order another round of antibiotics. I’m also concerned about keeping on top of her pain levels since it was such a rough ordeal last night. Her hand is looking good; I just want to get the rest of her body on the same plane before sending her home.”

Rick listened, leaning back in his chair, arms folded behind his head. “Not my patient, of course, but if she were, I’d probably be keeping Kelsey here another 2-3 days.”

Chris nodded. “I think that, due to the blood loss and the fever, 2-3 days is probably going to be my preference as well. There’s only so much you can do from your home, Mitch. Let us take good care of her, and we’ll send her home soon.”

Mitch sighed, hung his head, and raised it to look at Chris. “Okay. I’m selfish enough to want her at home where I can take care of her, but I’m also pragmatic enough to know when I can’t. Could I flip through her chart for a minute?”

“Sure thing.” Chris passed the chart to Mitch, who flipped through the most recent nursing notes and the last few lab panels.

Closing the chart, Mitch passed it back to Chris. “Okay, so then what is the intended plan of care?”

They sat and discussed Kelsey’s care for a few more minutes, then switched to more general chitchat. Mitch glanced at his watch and stood. “I’d better get back and see how much soup Kelsey is eating vs. her wearing.”

Rick chuckled. “I think that might be a good idea, from what I’m learning about that sister-in-law of yours.” He accepted Mitch’s hand up out of his chair. “Will you be heading home soon?”

Mitch looked at him for a moment. “Is it normal to say that I’m nervous about going to my own home?”

Rick laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “After the events of yesterday, I’d say that’s perfectly normal. Now, Mitch, I can honestly say that the cleaners did a thorough job. I did a walk-through before they left.” Mitch just nodded. He headed out of the consult room with Rick, Chris had already left. Rick stopped them before reaching Kelsey’s room. He pointed through the room window at Meghan. “If nothing else, I think Meghan needs to go home. She’s in pain but trying to mask it.”

Mitch started, looking first at his friend and then at Meghan through the window. Rick was right: he could see that she was putting on a front with her sister, but he couldn’t miss the grimace as she shifted to find a comfortable position in the chair she was sitting in. “Rats,” he said softly.

Rick cleared his throat. “Mitch, why don’t you go see to Kelsey, break the news to her that she’ll not be going home tonight. I’ll see about getting Meghan some meds, and then y’all go home. Leave whatever soup isn’t eaten: I’ll ask the nurses to set it back for Kelsey for later.”

Mitch nodded. “Thanks, Rick. My head…”

"Is all over the place. Understandable, my friend. Now, shoo!” He opened Kelsey’s door and ushered his friend inside.

“Sorry, we’re later than we expected. Kelsey, I’m glad to see it looks like you ate most of the soup instead of wearing it.” He winked.

Meghan turned. “Hey! Don’t besmirch my spoon-feeding skills.” She looked amused, but Rick saw through the façade when she grimaced.

He gave a small nod to Mitch. “Meghan, mind if I took a minute of your time?”

She gave him a quizzical look but stood up. She grabbed her crutches and made her way around the hospital bed. “I’ll be back in a bit, Kelsey.”

She followed Rick out of Kelsey’s room and down the hall. “Excuse me, Dr. Rick, but where exactly are we going?”

He stopped in front of an office and pulled out his keys. He unlocked the door, pocketing his keys, and opened it, holding it open for her to enter. She stepped into the office and he shut the door behind them.

“Welcome to my office! I wanted to talk to you for just a minute, and pass on a bit of news.” Rick motioned at the couch along one wall, and she perched on the edge. He pulled up a chair and sat down. “Feel free to lie down, if that’ll be more comfortable, Meghan. I know you’re hurting.”

She looked at him for a long moment, then shifted on the couch, resting her back against one arm and propping her left leg up on the cushions. Rick grabbed one of the throw pillows and tucked it under her leg. “Better?”

“Yeah,” she said, softly. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and rested her gaze on his concerned face. “So what’s this news you said you had to pass on?”

Rick rested his elbows on his knees. “They’re not going to release Kelsey home tonight.”

“Good.”

Rick sat back in the chair, surprised. “Really? I thought you’d be upset about that.”

Meghan shook her head. “She’s not ready to go home. And as good of a doctor I know Mitch to be, he’s not really equipped to support her the way she needs to be supported right at the moment. I know I’m no doctor, but I’m not sure that someone who received 3 units of blood and a pack of platelets a little over 24 hours ago has any business going home. Plus she’s got a fever.”

He cocked his head at her. “How’d you know that?”

“She’s pale, her mucus membranes are still rather pale, but her skin is too warm. When’s the last time they did any bloodwork, do you know?”

“Around 3 pm. Her counts are still a little low, and Dr. Rothman is ordering another round of antibiotics.” He studied her.

Meghan nodded, pleased. “I want Kelsey home, as I know Mitch does, but I want her home when she’s stable. We’ve both been a little more intimately involved with the hospital if you know what I mean, and I don’t think either one of us really wants to spend more time in here as a patient than is necessary.”

Rick nodded. He stretched and looked at Meghan again. “Well, hopefully, she’ll be ready to return home in a couple more days. Now, let’s talk about you.”

“Me?”

“Meghan, I know you’re hurting. When’s the last time you had any meds?”

Meghan thought for a moment. “It would have been sometime this morning before I was discharged. I’ve not had anything since then.”

Rick nodded. “That’s what I thought. What is your pain, on a scale from 1-10?”

“A four.” He gave her a look. “All right, a 7.”

Rick stood. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. Think you could swallow a pill? Not nauseous?”

Meghan looked down at her hands. “Not nauseous, but something to drink would be good.”

Rick nodded and left the office. He walked down to the nurse’s station, found a prescription pad, and wrote out a medication order, which he handed to one of the nurses to dispense.

As she retrieved the medication, he went to the nutrition room and scrounged a packet of crackers and a small can of Sprite, having seen her sipping it before. He returned to the station just as the nurse finished dispensing the order.

“Here you go, Dr. Brant.” She handed him the blister packed pills.

“Thanks, Judy.” Rick took the meds and headed down the hall back to his office. He pushed open the door with his hip. Meghan was still sitting quietly on the couch, her right leg drawn up, foot planted on the seat of the couch.

She looked up as he entered. He set everything down on his desk. “Did you get a chance to eat?”

“Yes, in between helping Kelsey eat.”

“Good. I brought you some crackers, just in case.” He popped the tab on the can of Sprite and passed it to Meghan, who took a sip. He then opened the blister packs, dropping the meds into Meghan’s waiting hand. “One for pain, and one for nausea, just in case.”

She swallowed the pills with the Sprite, handing the can back to him when she finished. He sat it on the corner of his desk and discarded the blister pack trash. “It’ll take a few minutes for those to kick in, but that will hopefully get you more comfortable.”

Meghan nodded. “Thanks, Dr. Rick. I appreciate it. I didn’t want Kelsey to worry, but I was hurting.”

“I think that it’s probably late enough that we need to get Mitch to call it a night and head home. But he’s not quite sure about going home.”

“I’m feeling the same thing, to be honest.”

Rick sat down again near her. “How’s your appetite?”

Meghan looked at him askance. “Okay, I guess. I’m not nauseous if that’s what you’re asking.”

Rick nodded. “I was thinking that all three of us could go and get some dinner, and then head over to Mitch’s home.”

“Works for me. A partial transition?”

Rick nodded again. “Diversionary tactic, if you will. Besides, I’m hungry.” He stood and assisted Meghan off the couch. “Okay, let’s go collect your brother-in-law.”

They headed back to Kelsey’s room. “Mitch, I’m hungry. Let’s go get dinner,” Rick announced.

Mitch who was sitting next to Kelsey, looked at his friend, then his wife. “Okay, sounds good. Dinner would be good.”

They said their goodbyes to Kelsey, promising to be back in the morning, and left her room. As they headed for the elevators, Rick asked Mitch what he was hungry for.

“Oh, I don’t know. A burger would work, although steak is sounding pretty good.” He looked wryly at his scrubs. “Too bad I’m not really dressed for more upscale. You?” Mitch punched the button to go down, and the doors opened. They stepped in, and the doors closed.

Rick punched the button for the garage. “I’m pretty open. Both sound good to me.”

“I know a great place: Bob’s Steakhouse, on 54th and Elm Street. They have both there, and it’s quite tasty,” Meghan suggested. She looked down at what she was wearing. “Best thing is, they aren’t sticklers for a dress code. We – the ambulance crew – have had lunch there several times. You’ll find people in jeans sitting alongside someone in a suit.”

Rick chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it, Meghan. Let’s go to Bob’s.”