Meghan stayed overnight at Kelsey’s house that night. She had swung by her apartment on the way so she could toss a few clothes and toiletries into an overnight bag and grab her knitting. Kelsey’s hand continued to heal, but Meghan knew the reality of Kelsey still needing some assistance, plus knowing that her presence would make the night away from Mitch easier.

Meghan assisted her sister, getting Kelsey tucked away into bed finally, then settled down in the guest room. As she lay in bed, drifting off to sleep, she ruminated about how different it felt sleeping in the actual guest room vs. the “home hospital” room of Mitch’s exam suite. She smirked, turned over, and fell asleep.

Meghan awoke early the next morning. She made her way quietly into the kitchen and got the coffee pot going before pulling her planner out of the backpack she had deposited by the couch the night before. She started flipping through it, looking at her busy schedule. Today was a light day for her, according to her planner, but she knew that was going to be deceiving. She didn’t need to be at the college until 5 that evening to prepare for her class that started at 6 pm, but she needed to retrieve her stuff from the station, and of course, she and Kelsey wanted to go spend time with Mitch. And if he was discharged today? Meghan’s mind was swirling with possibilities and scenarios when Kelsey joined her. Meghan jumped.

“Sorry, sis,” Kelsey apologized. “You looked lost in thought.”

Meghan grimaced. “Just trying to think through and plan today. I’m teaching tonight, so I have to be at the college by 5 pm, and I need to go by the station to pick up my stuff and drop off a doctor’s note clearing me back to duty, but I’m otherwise free. I figured you’d want to go spend time with Mitch today too.”

Kelsey nodded. “If Mitch gets discharged today but you’re not able to take us home because of the time, I’m sure Rick can do it.”

Meghan sighed in relief. “I didn’t think about that! I was trying to figure out how to juggle my schedule if he’s discharged late.” She smiled. “Sis, I could stay a couple more nights if that’d make it easier on you two. I know Mitch will want to do everything on his own, but a concussion makes that a little more challenging.”

Kelsey nodded. “I’d take care of him and stuff if I could, but…”

Meghan nodded in agreement. “I’m working tomorrow on the rig, but let’s see what I can arrange. I might be able to get someone to take the second half of the shift.”

Kelsey laid a hand on her sister’s arm. “I’m sure we can manage, but I’ll take any help I can get. Doctors can be cranky patients!”

Meghan laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

They had breakfast and got ready for the day. Anticipating that she might not have time to come back and change before teaching, Meghan went ahead and dressed for class that evening. She typically wore clothes similar to her paramedic uniform, switching the button-down dress shirt for either a polo or a department t-shirt. She opted this time for her multi-pocketed navy blue work pants, white crew socks, black boots with a side zipper, black utility webbed belt, and a red department chili cook-off t-shirt. She put her hair up into its usual ponytail and tugged the hair through the back of a navy blue Paramedic cap. She filled the pockets of her pants with the usual trauma shears, pens, Sharpie, Kleenex, and pocket field guide, then tucked her phone into its holster on her belt and her billfold into another pocket.

She kept her stethoscope in her backpack when she wasn’t using it, as well as whichever ID wasn’t needed at the moment. Her bag also held shelf-stable snacks, reading material, a sock in progress (she always had a knitting project with her!), plus a set of spare clothing, just in case. Heading out of the bedroom to the living room, she picked up her backpack and set it on the couch, checking to make sure she had everything in order. She added her ID badge from the ambulance to the bag in the zippered pocket she kept it in and made sure her college badge was there too. She zipped the bag closed and reached for her purse. Meghan didn’t like to carry a purse while on duty, preferring to utilize her pants pockets and her backpack, but had grabbed it when she was home the night before. She dug around in it until she found her chapstick. She applied some to her lips before tucking the tube into her pocket. Lastly, she fished out her keyring and hooked its clip to a belt loop, tucking the keys inside her pocket.

Satisfied she was ready for what the day was bringing her, she settled back at the bar with her planner again. Rick had said for her to see what days might work for her, and she sighed at all the busy evenings. She had to flip through a couple of weeks, but she finally found a couple of evenings that were possibilities. She unclipped her phone and sent Rick a text. I have these days available. Would one work for you?

“Who are you texting?” Kelsey asked, coming up behind her sister. Meghan jumped again.

“Kelsey Anne! Would you please stop sneaking up on me? I’m going to have a coronary one day from you doing that!” Meghan complained, hand coming up to rest on her chest.

“Sorry,” Kelsey replied, unrepentant. She had gotten dressed and was pouring herself more coffee.

“I was texting Rick,” Meghan replied.

Kelsey raised an eyebrow. “Really? Care to share?”

“Well…” Meghan hedged. Kelsey, figuring out that something was going on, moved to sit by her sister. “Yesterday, Rick kinda… well… he asked me out to dinner,” she blurted.

“He did?” Kelsey was surprised, not having been informed of the conversation Rick and Mitch had had a few months prior.

“Yeah, he did. And I agreed. I just sent him a text of when I was available.”

Kesley nodded, partly in satisfaction, partly in thought. “Rick would be a good choice for you. Handsome, smart, well thought of in the hospital. It’d be good to see him dating. You too, for that matter.”

**********

When Meghan and Kelsey walked into Mitch’s room that morning, they were surprised to see Mitch up and walking with crutches. The IVs had been removed, as well as all of the monitoring equipment and the catheter.

“Well, someone’s looking better!” Kelsey declared, going up to her husband and getting a big kiss.

“Absolutely! You can’t keep me down for too long,” Mitch said, but Meghan saw the telltale signs of a headache belaying his words.

“How’s the headache?” she asked, and his expression changed.

“I’ve got a doozy,” he admitted. He sat down on the edge of his bed and sighed. “I’ve got another hour before it’s time for meds.”

Meghan nodded in understanding. “It can take a few days for the dizziness, nausea, and headache to go away, as you well know.”

“Hon, have they said anything about discharging you yet?” Kelsey wanted to know.

“I voted for today, but Dr. Holmes from Neurology is planning to keep me one more day, just to continue monitoring because of the concussion. Guess that means I’m overruled,” Mitch sighed.

Meghan smiled kindly, while inwardly she was both breathing a sigh of relief and worrying about how to get him home. “As someone kept telling me a couple of months ago, patience is still a virtue!”

Mitch chuckled. “Did I say that?”

“Yep!”

**********

Mitch came home the following day, and while Meghan wasn’t able to switch her shift to bring him home, she was able to get off the next two evenings to stay with Mitch and Kelsey and help them out. Mitch was still tired and nursing a bit of a headache, but his biggest complaint was the occasional bouts of dizziness. He had fallen once, thankfully onto carpet, but it still was annoying and a little embarrassing to him.

After about a week, however, Mitch seemed to be over his concussion, and his ankle was doing much better. Meghan had gone home after two nights, leaving the couple to themselves. Kelsey’s hand was still healing, and she had a long road still to go, but Dr. Rothman was ready to release her to a light-duty position within the hospital. But most importantly, Rick had settled on a date with Meghan for dinner out.

Meghan’s world, except for the upcoming dinner date, was quieting down again, comparatively, and she was glad. It was nice to only need to focus on work and her classes, and Meghan welcomed the routine with open arms.