We both took it easy the next day, Monday. Doc had to go back to work Tuesday and I had plans. We slept in and even when we woke up, we stayed in bed for a while. He was feeling a lot better and we took advantage of the fact that Jessie was not on the bed - I presumed Karen had let her out when she arrived to do morning chores. She often let my dog hang out in the barn with her. Jessie was well behaved around the horses and did not spook them or get underfoot. She seemed to know instinctively that a well placed kick from a 1,000 pound animal with steel shoes would HURT.

After lunch, we talked about the wedding and discussed plans for it and our honeymoon in January. Doc showed me a listing for a cabin that he liked. It was about 2 hours away, a little farther than we’d really wanted, but we felt we could handle it for the right one. I told him to go ahead and call the realtor and find out when we could see it. It would have to be on a weekend or a Friday afternoon because of his schedule.

The next day, after lunch, I took a bushel basket and a small basket and headed for the peach tree in the back. I took the ATV as I did not want to try to carry a bushel of peaches back to the house. Karen had gone home after finishing the chores. I hadn’t told Doc I was going to do this as I knew he’d act the same way he had when I climbed the cherry trees. “Get down out of that tree, Meredith! You’ll fall and break your neck!”

I was up in the tree merrily picking it’s fruit when my phone rang. I hung my hand over a branch and then took hold of the handle of the basket with that hand, while I reached in my back pocket with my other hand for the phone. I looked at the display. It was Alex. Screw you, I thought as I put my phone back. I did not want to talk to him. In fact, I was thinking of cancelling the appointment I had with him two weeks from now.

Ten minutes later, my phone rang again. Figuring it was Alex, I didn’t even take it out of my pocket and continued picking peaches. I planned to slice and freeze most of them when I got back to the house. I’d save some to eat fresh. I had to make a few trips down to the ground to empty the full basket into the big one.

I was almost finished picking what I planned to pick - I would leave some for the birds and animals - when a loud voice scared the daylights out of me. “Meredith! What the hell are you doing?!” I was so startled, I lost my grip on the tree branch in the middle of climbing up to another branch. I tried to put my foot back down on the one I’d been on, but missed and fell to the ground. I think I hit every branch on the way down. Fortunately, I was not at the top of the tree, but I wasn’t far from it.

I landed with a THUD! And Doc was right there. “Are you okay, hon? Don’t move until I see if anything is broken.”

“Geez, Doc! Did you have to scare me like that? I’m okay …. I think.”

“Let me make sure of that. I’m sorry for startling you.”

“What time is it? What are you doing home?”

“It’s 4:00. I came home because I was worried about you.”

“Why?”

“Alex called me and said he couldn’t reach you. So, I tried and you didn’t answer the house phone or your cell. I was worried so I came home. I was just doing paperwork for the rest of the day anyway.”

“I don’t want to talk to Alex. I didn’t know the second call was you, I thought it was him so I didn’t take my phone out of my pocket.”

“Why don’t you want to talk to Alex? Never mind, let’s see what you’ve done to yourself. Do you hurt anywhere?”

“No, Doc. I just fell out of a tree but I don’t hurt anywhere. I think I can run a marathon.”

“Very funny, Meredith. Where do you hurt?”

“My hand and my foot. And my hip. And my back.” Doc looked at my hand and foot and asked me to move them every which way. He felt my hip. “You have a sprained wrist, and your foot is either sprained or strained. I think your hip is okay, probably bruised. We’ll see if you can stand on that foot, since it’s not the one that’s hurt. You have multiple scrapes on your arms and knees. I’m taking you in to get some X-rays just to be sure nothing is broken.”

“No need, Doc. I’ll be okay.”

“Did you get a medical degree in the last few hours, Meredith?”

“Haha, Doc.”

“I wish you’d trust my medical judgement, hon.”

“What makes you think I don’t?”

“The fact you won’t let me take you to the hospital. You’re saying you know better than I do about whether you need the x-rays or not.”

How could I argue with that? He had a point. “Okay, Doc, I’ll let you take me. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“That you help me wash and slice these peaches later.”

“I can do that, hon. You won’t be able to with that hand. I’ll get Karen to come help me.”

“It’s not my dominant hand, honey.”

“No, but you need two hands for it. Now, let me help you up.” He got me on my one good foot and I was able to stand with his help. Then he got me on the ATV and after I insisted, he put the bushel basket of peaches on the floor between my legs. I was not leaving them out there for the wild animals to get. They could have the grounders and the birds and raccoons could have the ones left on the tree. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be climbing that tree again until next summer. I would probably be okay to climb the apple trees in the fall, but I would have to do it without Doc’s knowledge. No way would he let me do it if he knew I was going to. I couldn’t use the “I’ve never fallen out of a tree” line anymore.

Back at the house, Doc wanted to put me into his car right away and head for the hospital, but I insisted on changing clothes and washing my face first. For one, I did not want to get his BMW dirty or get blood on it. For another, I didn’t want to look like hell in public. He reluctantly agreed to let me do it - he had not been concerned about his Beemer, which really said something about how he felt about me - and after I’d done so, he wrapped the worst of my scrapes. Most of them were superficial but there were a couple that looked a bit deeper. He thought the one on my left knee might need a stitch or two. Oh, yay.

On our way to the city, his phone rang. He answered and put it on hands-free. “Hello, Alex.” I cringed.

“Hi Julian. Did you find her?”

“Yes, in a tree picking peaches. She fell out when I called out to her.” Called out??? He hollered at me!

“Oh, goodness. Is she okay?”

“She has some scrapes and minor cuts. I think one needs stitches. She needs x-rays to rule out broken bones but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have any, just sprains or strains.”

“You’re coming in?”

“We’re on our way now.”

“I’ll meet you in the ER.”

After Doc ended the call, I said “Why the heck is he meeting us in the ER?”

“He’s worried about you and wants to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to him. Take me home, please, Doc.”

“No, Meredith. You’re going to the hospital to get checked out.”

“Then call Alex and tell him not to be there.”

“I won’t do that.”

“Fine, then let me out of the car. I’ll hitchhike home.”

“Meredith, you know I can’t do that.”

I undid my seat belt.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting out.” I reached over with my good hand and opened my door. Doc slammed on the brakes and I almost went face first into the dash. Fortunately, there were hardly any cars on the road.

“Close your door, Meredith.”

“Call Alex and tell him to stay away.”

“No.” I swung my right foot over and out the door. “All right, Meredith! I’ll call him. Just let me get the car off the road.” He put it in gear and pulled over onto the shoulder before stopping and picking up his phone from it’s holder on the dash.

“Hello Alex. I called to ask you to not meet us in the ER.” A pause. “Meredith doesn’t want to see you.” Another pause. “I don’t know, but she almost bailed from the moving car, that’s how bad she doesn’t want to talk to you.” A pause again. “My first priority is getting her injuries treated, then I will try and find out why she doesn’t want to talk to you. I’m sure it’s nothing personal, Alex.” Yet another pause. “Yes, I’ve been giving them to her every morning and evening. I’ll call you later. Thanks, Alex.”

“Okay?” he said to me after he’d ended the call.

“Okay”, I replied as I shut my door.

Doc undid his seat belt and leaned over me to grab mine. He pulled it over my front and did it up, then did his up again and pulled onto the road. After he’d driven a few minutes, he asked “Why don’t you want to talk to Alex, hon?” I sighed. “Did he say something that upset you?”

“Yes.”

“At the party?” I nodded. “What was it?”

I told him about the conversation I’d had with Alex. “Doc, he’s way off base. I love you and can’t wait until our wedding! I don’t want to talk to him if he’s going to try to talk me out of it.”

“He won’t, Meredith. I will not let him. I know he wouldn’t be able to talk you out of it, but I don’t want you having that stress of him trying. I will speak to him about it and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he pushes, he will find himself with two fewer friends and patients.”

“Thank you, Doc!”

“Is that why you ducked his call today?”

“Yes.”

“Hon, I need you to behave in the hospital, okay? If you act up in there and he gets wind of it, he could use it against you. So please try to be calm, no matter what happens in there.”

“Okay, Doc.” He reached over with his hand and squeezed mine.

When we reached the hospital, Doc went in and got a wheelchair for me. He took me in, and I registered, then was taken to a room. He helped me onto the bed and a nurse came in to take my vitals. The door opened and in walked Alex. I looked at him, then at Doc. “I’ll take care of it, hon”, he said and went over to Alex and pushed him out the door.

When the nurse had finished taking my vitals, she said the doctor would be in shortly. I sat there and waited for Doc. What was taking him so long? Finally, he came back in to the room. Alex was with him. “Before you get hyper, hon, he’s not going to say one negative word about the wedding.”

“Julian made it quite clear to me that if I do, I’ll be lying in that bed. I just want to see how you are doing. I hear you took a fall out of a tree.”

“Yeah, I did. I’m okay, but you know worry-wart Julian. He wanted to make sure nothing is broken.”

“I’m starting to think Julian is right to worry about you. What were you doing up a tree?”

“Picking peaches. I do it every year and have never fallen - until someone hollered at me and scared the crap out of me.” I looked at Doc.

“Guilty as charged”, Doc said. “This one is my fault.”

“She shouldn’t have been up the tree in the first place, with nobody home.”

“He’s got you there, hon”, Doc said to me.

“Doc, if you were home, you’d have done the same thing you did when I picked cherries. Hung around the base of the tree telling me to get down.”

“Meredith, have you been taking any antibiotics?” Alex asked me.

“No, why?”

“No, she hasn’t”, Doc said. “She’s not been sick lately.”

“Have you been getting any on the black market?”

“Alex, why would you ask me such a question?” I asked.

“I’d like to know, too”, Doc said to him.

“There are antibiotics that block the effects of Ativan. You seem back to your stubborn, feisty self, Meredith.”

“You think I’ve been taking something to block the Ativan?”

“I had to ask. Would you mind if I did blood-work?”

Doc jumped in “Alex, I don’t appreciate the insinuation that she’s lying. Meredith does not lie.”

“It’s okay, Doc”, I said. “He can take my blood. I have nothing to hide.”

Just then, the ER doc came in and did an assessment. “I’m going to order x-rays of your hand and wrist, ankle and hip, Meredith”, she said. After I get the results, I’ll stitch up that knee.”

“Doc, can you please do that at home? I just want to get out of here as soon as the x-rays are done.”

“We’ll see, hon. Let’s get the radiographs first.”

A few minutes later, we were on our way to the X-ray department. Doc wheeled me down. I was taken in right away and it didn’t take long. Before I knew it, we were back in the ER. A tech came to take my blood. After she left, I thought of something. “Doc! What time is it?”

“It’s almost 6:00, hon. Why?”

“My horses need to be fed!”

“I called Karen while you were getting the radiographs, hon. She’s doing it now. She’ll feed Jessie, too.”

“Oh, thank you, Doc! I can’t believe I forgot!”

“It’s understandable, hon. Karen said she and her family will take care of it until you are back on your feet.”

“I can do it, Doc.”

“No, you cannot. Even if there are no broken bones, at the very least, you’ve strained your foot so you can’t walk. And that hand needs rest, too.” I groaned. “Meredith, you’re groaning again. Perhaps you need a physical.”

“Doc! Shhhh!!!!”

“Nobody is in here but us, hon.” The door opened and Alex walked in. I blushed.

“Julian, here’s a new script for the Ativan”, he said, handing Doc a piece of paper. “I’ve increased the dose, Meredith. I think your body has developed a tolerance to it. It’s awful fast, but it’s not unheard of.”

“No, Alex. No dose increase. In fact, I want to go off of it.”

“I don’t recommend it, Meredith.”

“It neuters me, and I don’t want that. Besides, everything has settled down. I don’t need it anymore.”

“The fact that you climbed a tree and fell out says otherwise.”

“She fell out because I startled her, Alex. I should not have yelled at her.”

“She shouldn’t have been up the tree in the first place.”

“Why not, Alex? I do it every year to pick the fruit and have never fallen out before today.”

“She has a point”, Doc said. I gave Alex a 'nyah, nyah' look. Childish, yes, but oh so satisfying.

“Julian, you aren’t helping. You yourself said that she’s back to her old feistiness.”

“Yes, but that’s not why she needed Ativan. It was to keep her calm through her hospital stay and a bit after, so that she wouldn’t do something rash when she got scared. That danger has passed. I don’t want her ‘neutered’. I fell in love with Feisty Meredith. That’s who she is and I don‘t want her to be forced to change.”

“You have court coming up next month for both Jane and Watters. I think she should be on it until those cases are over.”

“Put her on it again next month if you feel it necessary, Alex.”

“Julian, I could do that. But by the time she’s weaned off it, it would be time to go back on.”

“He’s got a point, hon.”

“Tell you what, Meredith”, our therapist said. “I’ll cut the increase I was going to give you by half, okay?”

“As long as it doesn’t neuter me. If it does, I’m going right off and I won’t be going back on.”

“Here, let me have that”, Alex said to Doc. He wrote on the prescription and gave it back to him. “The x-ray results should be in. Let me go see if they are.”

“Doc, I mean it”, I said when he’d left. “If I feel neutered, that’s it.”

“He took your threat seriously”, Doc said, looking at the prescription. “He changed it to less than half his planned increase.”

“Oh? That says to me he was trying to neuter me again.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, hon. Just take the increase he settled on and let it be.”

Alex came back with the ER doctor. She said there were no broken bones. She wanted me to stay off my foot for 4 weeks minimum and preferably off the other leg for a couple weeks, but she understood if I couldn’t. My wrist was sprained and would take a few weeks to heal as well. “There’s a small crack in your knee, but it’s very small. Your hip is bruised but not broken. The nurse cleaned out your cuts, let me look at that deep one. It looks like she got all the dirt out of it. If you want Dr Richards to stitch it up at home, that’s fine. We‘re getting a little busy out there.”

“Let’s go, Doc”, I said.

“Hold it, hon. I’ll do it here, I have privileges. I’ll be quick”, he said to the ER doc.

Twenty minutes later, we were on our way home. “Hon, I’d like you to listen to me”, Doc said as he drove. “I think we should sleep downstairs tonight. I don’t want you trying to make it up the stairs with crutches and a bum wrist.”

“You are right, Doc. I think it would be too much.” He sighed with relief.

I got Doc to put a note on the back door telling Karen we were in the downstairs bedroom so that she would not barge in without knocking first. After we got into bed, I said to him “Honey, thank you for standing up for me with Alex. It means a lot to me.”

“Hon, I don’t want him hassling you about the wedding, either. And I’ve missed Feisty Meredith. In fact, I missed her so much that I’ve been giving her less Ativan than prescribed.”

“Doc!” I looked at him in astonishment.

He put his finger to his lips “Shhhhhh! Don’t tell Alex.”

“He’s gonna find out, Doc - when the blood results are in.”

“I know, hon. I cringed when he asked for the sample and you were so willing to give it.”

“I wouldn’t have if I’d known.”

“It’s okay, Meredith. I’ll deal with Alex. He’ll be mad, but that’s tough noogies, as you would say. You don’t need the Ativan at all anymore. Though I agree with him that maybe you should be on it for the court cases.”

“We’ll see, Doc. So, are you going to stop giving it to me?”

“I can’t just stop. You need to come off it gradually. Tomorrow, I’ll reduce the dose from what I’ve been giving you. In a week, I’ll give it to you every other day for a week, then I’ll stop.

“Doc, could Alex make trouble for you for doing that?”

“No, hon. As long as that is what you want me to do. If he even tries, I have some dirt on him.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, but I’m not going to say what it is at this point. It’s better if you don’t know. But don’t worry, it doesn’t affect the care he’s giving you or I - or anyone, really. If it did, I’d be reporting him. It would, however, affect his marriage.” I got the drift.

“I’d like to stay home with you tomorrow, hon, but I better go in and see my patients. I was away so much during the winter and spring, and I will be away a bit in the fall and then after Christmas. Would you like me to get a nurse to come out and stay with you while I’m at work?”

“I’ll be fine, Doc. Don’t worry about me.”

“I do worry about you, Meredith. I’m going to see how many patients I can reschedule or get the other doctors to see, and see if I can reduce my hours for the next couple weeks.”

“Doc, you don’t need to. Like I said, I’ll be fine.”

“It’s just for this week and next week. If you are managing okay, I’ll go back the week after next. And, by the way, I want you to have an ultrasound as soon as I can arrange it.”

“Why?”

“Just to keep an eye on things and make sure there are no more cysts growing.”

“Okay, Doc.”

“That was easy.”

“It’s only an ultrasound. I’m not in pain near my ovary anymore, so it’s no big deal. Besides, I don‘t want to give you a hard time after you standing up for me like that.”

“Come here, hon.” He moved closer to me and gave me a kiss. Jessie took advantage and moved up into his vacated spot. Doc laughed. “It looks like I’m sleeping on your side of the bed tonight.”

“Looks like it, Doc.”

“I hope I don’t cramp you.”

“You won’t, honey.” I half sat up and looked over him at my dog. “You are one spoiled dog, Jessie. Doc ought to throw you off the bed.”

“Would you throw her off if she took your spot?” he asked.

“No.”

“Welcome back, Feisty Meredith”, he said as he snuggled up to me.

“It’s good to be back.”