The rest of the weekend went by quickly. Kelsey remained in the hospital, so Mitch and Meghan spent a good chunk of time there, keeping her company. She had several colleagues come and visit, and soon her room was wall-to-wall flowers, chocolate, and get-well-soon cards.

Rick Brant came to visit again on Sunday. He regaled them with stories from a recent ski trip, and privately he enjoyed seeing the smiles coming his way from Meghan. After about an hour, he caught Mitch’s eye and motioned for him to join him outside the room. “Excuse us, ladies. I need to chat about a patient. We’ll be back in a bit.”

Kelsey nodded while Mitch stepped out into the hall behind Rick. They made their way down to a quiet alcove and sat down. “Okay, Rick, what’s up?”

Rick pressed his lips together. “I got a call from Kevin Meyers in Gyn Surgery about Meghan this morning.”

Mitch nodded. “Yes, I’ve referred her case over to him.”

“He wanted to know my opinion of her health since she just recently had the tibia repair. I told him that I knew she was in a lot of pain from the cyst, but I thought she should be ok for surgery, considering the precautions that Harper in Anesthesia recommended taking. If it wasn’t causing so much pain, I’d advise waiting another month or two, but in my limited opinion, the only way to get her out of pain is for surgery to happen soon.” Rick sighed.

Mitch sensed something else was troubling his friend. “I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

Rick looked down at the floor, and then up at his friend. “I have no way to ask this but to come straight out: is your sister-in-law seeing someone?”

Mitch looked like he’d been caught with a ball from left field. “Seeing someone, as in dating? Not that I’m aware of.”

Rick nodded and sighed again. “She’s my patient, but she’s also intriguing, Mitch, in a way I haven’t found yet. Ugh! I don’t know what to do!” He got up and started pacing.

Mitch looked at his friend, amused. “So you wait until Meghan’s no longer your patient and you ask her out! I’m pretty sure she’s not gonna bite. Your only issue will be trying to schedule a date when she’s back 100% and back to work. Her schedule has been crazy the last few months, and it may get even more hectic.”

Rick nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard you and Kelsey complain about her schedule a couple of times.” He paced a bit more, thinking. “Do you think it would be okay for me to visit her when she does have her surgery? I don’t want to step out of line here.”

Mitch quirked an eyebrow at him. “I don’t think so. I think she sees you as a friend of ours, so it shouldn’t be amiss if you visited.”

Rick sighed. “That’s good. I don’t want to make a wrong move.”

Mitch stood and gave his friend a friendly shoulder punch. “Hey, I understand. After all, Kelsey and I met during a patient procedure. Kinda hard to ask someone out when you’re in the middle of a patient’s pelvic exam.” He chuckled. “Speaking of which, I need to get back to Kelsey. Anything else you need or want to ask, you know where to find me.”

“Indeed I do, friend. Indeed I do.”

**********

Monday morning started early for Meghan. Not only was Kelsey coming home today, but Meghan had her appointment with a surgeon. Meghan made sure to sponge bath as best as she could, liking to be diligent to be clean before a doctor’s appointment.

She drank the coffee Mitch made but didn’t have much of an appetite for breakfast, a fact Mitch noticed.

“Are you feeling okay, Meghan?” he asked, concerned. She was a bit pale, and he moved to place one hand on her forehead while settling the other on her wrist to check her pulse.

She sighed. “I’m fine. I’m just nervous about the pre-op appointment. I feel like I’m spending more time in the hospital than I am here. I hate being sick!”

Mitch chuckled a bit, removing his hands from her person. She didn’t feel feverish and her pulse was in the normal range. “I’m sure you do. I have yet to meet someone who enjoys being sick.” He drank the last of his coffee and changed the subject. “I’m so glad that Kelsey’s coming home tonight. I’ve missed her!”

“Me too! I think she’s ready, as well. She’s like me – working in the medical field is fine, but I want to be on the giving end, not the receiving end!” Meghan stood up and tucked her crutches under her arms. “I need to grab my purse and I’ll be ready to go.”

Mitch nodded. “I’ll be ready.” He rinsed out their cups while she retrieved her purse, and they headed for the hospital.

**********

Having arrived early to the hospital, Meghan headed straight to Kelsey’s room. She unslung the duffel bag she had carried with some clean clothes for her sister to leave the hospital in. “Good morning, sis! Thought you’d like some normal clothes to wear home.”

“Good morning to you too! I thought I wouldn’t see you until after your appointment this morning.” Kelsey looked a lot better than she had a couple of days ago, and Meghan knew she was itching to get home.

“We decided to come early,” Mitch declared, bending down to kiss his wife. “Are the plans still for you to come home with me today?”

She nodded. “Dr. Rothman did rounds about an hour ago, and the plan is to send me packing this afternoon, and to follow up in clinic around the end of the week.”

“Sounds good to me!” Mitch declared, kissing her again.

Meghan chuckled. “You two! Get a room!”

Kelsey laughed. “Uh, sis, this is my room!” Mitch just shook his head at their antics.

“I think I’m going to leave you two to it,” Meghan decided. “I’ve got a couple of people I wouldn’t mind saying hi to, and my appointment is in an hour and a half.” She got up from the chair she had just sat down in.

“You know where to find the clinic?” Kelsey asked.

Meghan nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen the signs before. I’ll be back afterward.”

Meghan left the room and headed for the elevators. Truth be told, she was still nervous about the upcoming appointment and didn’t want to have to sit and watch the clock count down the minutes. She made a quick decision and pressed the button for the 1st floor.

**********

Meghan stepped into the ER and headed for the nurses’ station. Sure enough, Stan was working that day, and she tried to sneak up behind him when Bob called to her. “Meghan, I thought you were going to stay home and rest!” Stan turned around at Meghan’s name and caught her chagrined expression.

“Bob, you just messed up a perfectly good sneak attack!” she complained. She accepted a hug from both men.

“What’re you doing here?” Bob asked.

She held her hands up in surrender. “Just visiting and killing time, I swear! I have an appointment in an hour, and was going stir-crazy in Kelsey’s room.” She sat down in an empty chair.

“Well, I’m glad to see you, even if you’re crazy enough to visit off-duty,” Stan replied. He shuffled some charts around and reached around her to grab his stethoscope. “Be back in a minute.” He headed off to check in a patient that EMS had just brought in.

Bob gave her a knowing glance. “It’s pretty busy down here today.”

Meghan chuckled. “So I see. I’ll just hang out until I need to leave. Or you kick me out.”

He laughed. “Now would I do that?” He left her to answer a telephone.

Meghan closed her eyes and took in the sounds of the bustling ER around her. Others might think her crazy, but she found it oddly calming, a kind of centering sound for her.

She heard an exaggerated sigh and opened her eyes to see Jerry standing beside her, his arms folded and wearing a disapproving look. “Squirt, we need to stop meeting like this.”

She looked at him askance. “What do you mean?”

“You as a patient in this ER.”

She laughed. “This time you’re wrong. I’m here visiting and soaking up adrenaline from the atmosphere.”

He tried to keep a stern look on his face, but couldn’t stop the smirk. “What am I to do with you?”

“You’ve been asking that for 6 years, Jerry. I don’t think you’re going to find an answer if you haven’t found one by now.” Meghan flashed him a devilish grin.

“True. By the way, the fire guys are planning to meet us at the café tomorrow around 8 for breakfast. Wanna come?” He handed in some paperwork and gathered supplies from Bill.

“Hi, Meghan. Hanging out or being held captive?”

“Hanging out,” she assured him. “I’d love to, Jerry, but I have no way to get there. Driving restrictions,” she said, pointing to her leg.

“I’m off at 7. Let me know where you’re staying, and I’ll swing by to pick you up. If you’re good, I might even bring you back!” He winked.

“Let me check with Mitch and Kelsey. She’s coming home today, by the way. I’ll text you if I’m coming and send you the address.” Just then, Bill’s radio sprang to life, sending them on another call.

“Sounds good! Gotta go. What’ve we got?” Jerry and Bill left in a hurry towards the Ambulance Bay doors.

Meghan chuckled, shook her head, and tried to get over the desire to run out and ride along.

Stan came back to the desk. “Kinda hard to watch them leave without you, isn’t it?” He asked softly, seeing the wistfulness on her face.

“Yeah, it is. I keep thinking that should be me rushing out of the ER, instead of standing here with a bum leg and crutches watching them go.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “Yeah, and the feeling never really leaves.” Stan had gotten his nursing degree after a bad patient lift hurt his back three years previous.

She sighed and glanced at the clock. Her appointment was in 20 minutes, and she always liked to be early. “I guess I’d better be off to my appointment. It was good seeing you, even if just for a couple of minutes.”

“You too, kiddo. Stop by anytime, preferably ambulatory and just as a visitor!” Stan joked. He waved at her as she left, and continued his charting.