Mitch awoke in pain and glaring brightness. He could feel himself moving, although he wasn’t sure how or why. Suddenly the momentum stopped and reversed as his gurney was backed back into the trauma room. He reached up a shaky hand to touch his throbbing head.

“Mitch! Buddy, glad to see you’re awake!” Dr. Shultz leaned over so he would be in Mitch’s field of vision while techs set about hooking Mitch back up to the telemetry. “How are you feeling?”

Mitch frowned in confusion. “What’s happening? Where am I? Wait – how’d I end up in the ER?”

“Sounds like you took a tumble down some stairs and hit your head.” Dr. Shultz pulled a pair of gloves from the box on the wall and put them on. “Let’s check you out. Any pain?”

“A doozy of a headache and my right ankle is throbbing. My neck feels stiff, and something feels off… down there.” Mitch couldn’t exactly pinpoint the source of that discomfort.

“You’ve got a large knot on the back of your head where you hit the stairs, and you’ve still got a c-collar on. Radiology didn’t see any broken bones to that ankle, so you’ve probably just got a bad sprain. And you have a Foley.”

Mitch gave a small groan. “Now I understand why Meghan kept complaining about hers.”

Dr. Shultz smiled sympathetically. “They aren’t the most comfortable, are they?” He took out a penlight and clicked it on. “I need a peek at those pupils.” He checked Mitch’s pupils carefully before returning the penlight to his pocket. “Looking better. Your right pupil was a touch enlarged when you first got here.”

“Are you going to send me to CT?” Mitch asked.

“Actually, you just got back from CT. No signs of a bleed, so I’m pretty sure you’ve just got a bad concussion. Here, squeeze my fingers.” Dr. Shultz placed two fingers in each of Mitch’s hand and had him squeeze down, testing his grip strength and checking his neuro ability.

“I need to go check on Meghan, but I’ll be back in just a little bit with something for the pain.”

“Wait – what about Meghan?” Mitch asked, concerned.

Dr. Shultz realized he had just said the wrong thing. “She’s okay. She had a syncopal episode and is a little dehydrated. She’ll be going home tonight.” Mitch sighed in relief. Dr. Shultz patted a foot and headed out of the room.

About 20 minutes later, Dr. Shultz returned. A nurse had been in in the meantime to administer some pain meds and Zofran. “How are you doing?” he asked.

“Better, with the pain meds on board, but really hoping that my c-spine has been cleared and this collar can come off,” Mitch complained.

“I can do that for you,” Dr. Shultz stated, reaching for the Velcro strap holding the collar on. He eased the collar from around Mitch’s neck. “Better?”

“Ah. Yes. Much better.” Mitch carefully stretched his neck.

“Dr. Brant is here with Kelsey. Are you ready for a visitor or two?”

“Yes, I would like to see my wife. Is she crying?” Mitch asked, concerned.

“It looks like she was earlier,” Dr. Shultz stated. “She’s in with Meghan now. I’ll go get her.” Dr. Shultz stepped out of the room and spotted Rick standing right outside Meghan’s room. He joined the other doctor. "Need something?”

“Meghan’s complaining of a little bit of nausea and a headache. I have a feeling she hadn’t told you that.”

Dr. Shultz shook his head. “No, she didn’t. I’ll have someone go in with some meds.”

“Thanks,” Rick said. “Any update on Mitch?”

“He’s awake and alert, although he doesn’t remember the accident. He’s got a bad concussion and a sprained ankle, but otherwise is doing well. I intend to keep him for a couple of days because of the head injury.” Dr. Shultz sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

Rick gave him a tight grin. “His family just isn’t getting any breaks, are they? We got Meghan mostly well, then Kelsey got hurt, and now that Meghan’s back on her feet, Mitch goes down.”

“It never rains but it pours,” Dr. Shultz quipped. “I’m going to go get his wife.”

“I think I’ll sit with Meghan for a few minutes, let them have some privacy,” Rick decided, walking back to Meghan’s room with Dr. Shultz. Dr. Shultz took a detour to give some medication orders, so Rick entered Meghan’s room alone.

Meghan was obviously sleepy, and Kelsey was keeping up a low chatter of conversation with her sister. Rick sat down in a chair to wait for Dr. Shultz to come in. It wasn’t long before the man in question popped back into the room.

“Kelsey, I’ll take you back to Mitch, if you want.”

She stood quickly, grabbing her purse. “Of course!” She followed Dr. Shultz from the room, leaving Rick alone with Meghan.

Meghan watched them leave, then looked over at Rick. “Thanks for bringing Kelsey, Dr. Rick. Who contacted you?”

“Bob called me as soon as he was free from taking care of Mitch.” Rick sighed and shook his head. “Y’all need to stop getting hurt!”

“Don’t I know it,” Meghan replied. “I know we always say that calls come in runs of three. I sure hope this completes that three – I’m not sure how much more of this I could take.”

Rick chuckled. “I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but I truly do hope you’re right.” He sat down, scooting his chair right up next to her gurney. “I, ah, wanted to ask you a question.”

“Sure. Shoot!” Meghan said.

Rick gave a small smile. “I’ve actually wanted to ask you for a while, but the timing wasn’t right. Meghan, would you like to go out to dinner with me?” He was nervous about her response.

Meghan was surprised at his question. “What? Like, dinner tonight after I get out of here?” She wasn’t quite understanding what he was asking.

“No, that wasn’t what I meant. I’m asking if you’d like to go on a date with me?”

Meghan was taken aback. She’d never really thought about Rick in a romantic way, but couldn’t deny that he was a handsome man, and obviously smart. He had always been kind and considerate to her, so those were also good points in her book. She decided to investigate further. “Sure, I’d like that. Trying to find a time to go might be a challenge, but I’d like to get to know you better.”

Rick’s smile was wide. “Awesome! We’ll look at schedules later, and find something that works. If need be, we could also switch dinner to a lunch or breakfast. I’m flexible.”

Meghan laughed. “Easy to please! Or, probably more accurately, used to crazy schedules and making time for what’s important to you.”

Rick nodded. “Definitely. And getting to know you better has become a priority for me.”

Meghan blushed, not quite knowing what to say. Rick smiled, then switched the topic to something not so personal. They chatted for a few minutes before Bob came in with meds and a food tray.

“Here you go, kiddo. I’ve got some meds and some food. I think you lucked out: Dietary sent down tomato soup and grilled cheese.” Bob set the tray down on the cabinet for a moment. He dug out an alcohol prep pad from his pocket and used it to wipe down a port on her IV. “Here’s some Zophran, and some Toradol for that headache.” He injected the medications, disposed of the syringes, and brought the tray to a bedside stand close to her bed. He moved the stand into a better position for her and dropped the bedside rail. “Think you could sit on the edge of the bed?” Meghan nodded, and Bob helped her swing her legs over the side to sit, moving IV lines and wires around to keep her from getting tangled up.

“Eat what you can,” Bob encouraged. “When you’re done, Dr. Shultz wants me to check your vitals and glucose again. So, fair warning!” He winked and left.

Meghan looked at the tray and sighed. She still wasn’t very hungry, even with the nausea being drastically cut by the Zophran, but knew she needed to eat something. She reached for the sandwich and dunked it in the soup before taking a bite.

“How’s it taste?” Rick asked.

“I’ve had better, but it’s not bad.” Meghan picked up the spoon and started to go after the soup. She wound up making it through most of the soup, half of the sandwich and drank the apple juice included on the tray before she was done. Rick moved the tray away and helped her to lie back on the gurney again, raising the bed rail back up into position. He paged for Bob, letting him know that Meghan was done eating.

After a few minutes, Bob came back in. He glanced at the tray, happy to see that she had had a decent appetite. He punched a button for the blood pressure to be taken and started writing down her current vital signs. The cuff hissed, and new numbers came up on the monitor. “Hmm. 96/72. Still a little low, but much better! Let’s see what your blood sugar is doing. Give me a finger, hon.” Meghan, who was starting to feel better, grinned and pointed a middle finger at him. Bob frowned at her but laughed. “Okay, now I know you’re starting to feel better.” She switched to her pinky finger, and Bob stuck it with the needle. He squeezed to get a drop of blood and applied it to a test strip. “134 now, which is fine considering you just ate.” He disposed of the trash and patted her foot. “I’ll pass this info on to Dr. Shultz. See you in a bit.”

**********

Kelsey had followed Dr. Shultz towards the Trauma bays, dreading how Mitch may look. She remembered some of the patients that had come into the trauma units when she was in nursing school, and she was afraid that her husband might be that banged up. So she was understandably nervous when she walked in to see her husband in a hospital bed.

Mitch was in a hospital gown, several blankets on the bed. One of the nurses had raised the head of the bed some, so he was in a reclining sitting position. He had one IV currently dripping fluids, the other hep-locked off, leads connecting him to the monitor, and tubing from the Foley catheter snaked out from under the blankets to the drain bag hanging from the side of the gurney. An elevated bump under the covers hid his swollen right ankle, propped up on a couple of pillows. But it was the air of vulnerability that got to Kelsey. Her eyes started to tear up, and she wiped her eyes quickly.

Mitch heard someone entering the room and opened his eyes. He saw his wife wiping tears and felt horrible knowing that he was in some way responsible for them. Cautious of all of the tubes and wires attached to him, he held out his arms. “Kelsey.”

She moved towards the bed and cautiously embraced him. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Me too.” Mitch shifted a little in the bed to be in a more comfortable position. “This is not how I was planning to spend my evening!”

Dr. Shultz, who had held back to give them a moment of privacy, cleared his throat. “I think every patient who passes through here says the same thing.”

Mitch chuckled. “True. And the next question that comes is ‘When can I go home?’.” He looked at Steve. “So, Doc, when can I go home?”

Steve shook his head but smiled. “I’m afraid that the answer is not tonight. You’re being admitted for a day or so for observation for that concussion.”

Mitch nodded somberly. “Yeah, I expected that. Hopefully, I don’t wind up with a nurse who has a vendetta against doctors!”

Everyone chuckled. Steve excused himself, leaving the couple alone to chat.

“How’s Meghan doing?” Mitch asked after a while.

“Her blood pressure was still low, and she was complaining of a headache and some nausea when I was there.”

Mitch frowned. “She seems to keep having issues with low blood pressure. It’s something we should encourage her to get checked out after everything calms down. Is she by herself?”

Kelsey shook her head. “No, Rick is staying with her.”

“Good.” He smiled and focused back on his wife.

**********

It was after 9 pm when Meghan was finally freed from the ER. Her blood pressure was still a little low, but it had finally climbed over 110 systolic, which met Dr. Shultz’s criteria for allowing her to leave. She and Rick had just missed Mitch’s being moved up to a ward, so they took the elevator to the third floor to visit and collect Kelsey.

Meghan immediately began to mentally assess Mitch when she saw him and was pleased to see him awake and looking a lot better than when she was treating him in her ambulance. “Hi, Mitch. Glad to see you awake!”

He smiled. “There’s my rescuer! How are you feeling?”

Meghan blushed. “Well, someone had to take care of you for a change. I’m fine. How are you feeling?” she redirected.

“Aside from a headache and a throbbing ankle, I’m fine. But how are you feeling, really? I heard about the swan dive you took earlier.” He gave her an assessing look.

“Oh,” Meghan said, looking trapped. “Maybe still a touch of the headache, but I’m fine.” She headed for a chair, pulling it close to Mitch’s bed, as Rick had already claimed the rolling stool.

Rick rolled on his stool to the end of Mitch’s bed. “Mind if I check out your ankle, Mitch?” Rick asked.

“By all means! Never turn down the services of a good orthopod,” Mitch told the sisters, watching as Rick uncovered his right foot and started palpating the sore extremity. Mitch winced a few times, but Rick was as gentle as possible. Finally, he covered Mitch’s foot back up. “Prognosis?”

“I’m going to have to amputate, doctor. No, I think Steve is correct: it’s a bad sprain. I might recommend some ice and heat packs, rotating between the two, and stay off of it for a few days as much as possible, but otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to heal.” Rick got up to wash his hands before returning to his seat.

“I’ll ask one of the nurses later about the packs,” Mitch replied. “For now, though, I’m just glad to be off of it.”

“I’m sure,” Rick replied, smiling. He glanced at the clock, then at the sisters. Both appeared tired, and he knew he had an early morning ahead of him. “Well, I think I should get these two gals on their way home. Let me know if you need anything, man. I’m back on the clock tomorrow, so I’ll stop by to gab when I get a free minute.” He stood and saw Meghan and Kelsey getting to their feet as well. Rick shook Mitch’s hand and waited for Kelsey and Meghan to say their goodbyes before leading the way out of Mitch’s room and towards the elevator.

Meghan opted to drive herself home and offered to take Kelsey, who agreed to ride back to the house with her. Rick left them to drive himself home, but not before giving Meghan a business card. “This has my cell and my pager on it. Look at your schedule, and call or text with some possible days you’re available. And if you need me, page. I’ll call you back.”

Meghan took the card he held out. “Thanks, Rick. I’ll get back with you.”