Cruz entered the emergency room first, looking for dr. Choi, while Brett was helping Otis out the car;
"alright, thanks Sylvie, but I feel better now, I can walk on my own,"
"or not..." he added, as she was not letting him go.
"This way" a nurse lead the way to an exam room and handed Otis a gown;
"oh, this won't be necessary..." he uselessly tried to oppose,
"settle in! Doctor should be here any minute."
"And take that annoyed look off your face!
It's not our fault, we are just trying to help here..." Brett said.
"Hey what's wrong Brian? Do you already miss us?" dr. Choi said, entering the room.
"Yhea, I think it's nothing, they actually forced me in...
I just felt a little dizzy while I was doing my exercises"
"he had nose bleeding, and he fainted; we found him unresponsive on the floor, and when he regained consciousness, he was confused, and couldn't tell us exactly what happened" Brett interrupted,
"oh c'mon..." he tried to protest again,
"this don't seem nothing to me!" she finished.
"She is right; let's start checking your vitals, and then we will see" the doctor stated,
connecting him to a cardiac monitor, while the nurse measured his blood pressure and temperature.
Cruz and Brett stood there, unsure if they should stay, or they needed to exit .
"Ok guys his pulse rage is a bit too fast, and his blood pressure is definitely low;
that easily explains the nose bleeding" dr. Choi said,
"and he has a slight fever too" the nurse added.
"Ok, so what now?" Otis said.
"Look, this could be nothing, but I would like to keep you in for the night, just to monitor the situation".
"Is this really necessary? Can't I keep my blood pressure under control at home?
After all, I live with a couple of overprotective first responders."
"Hey don't' be a baby, just do what the doctor says, brother."
"Yes it is necessary! You need rest;
I think you are pushing yourself too hard.
We have to revalue, and most likely slow down your physical therapy, plus if your symptoms don't improve by the morning, we will have to run some tests to make sure there are no blood clots in your body that could cause more problems".
"Ok..." Otis said, trying hardly to seem more annoyed than scared.
"Perfect, I'll go grab your admission paper" dr. Choi said him, then he turned to the other two
"sorry guys but when I'm back you need to go,"
"ok, thanks doc".
"So guys, I will spend the night here, but only if you don't tell anyone about this!"
"I think you are getting delirious; you are asking Brett to keep a secret?"
"very kind Joe, very kind... and no, Otis, I'm not gonna lie to our colleague and friends" .
"I'm just asking not to make anyone worry if it is not strictly necessary, ok? Just till I get sure news, please!
I will personally call the chief tomorrow morning, I promise.
Just, please, can you do as I ask?"
Cruz and Brett looked at the monitor he was connected to and then at each other,
"ok" he said, and she reluctantly nodded.
"We'll stop by in the morning, before shift starts, just let us know if you need anything" Brett assured,
"yeah, I'll take you a change of clothes and the basic stuff, for now, just rest and recover" Cruz added.
"Thank you guys, you don't need to worry, I'll be fine!" Otis said, and greeted his friends while they left, than he signed the admission papers.
"Now I need to collect a blood sample to run some routine tests, and then I'll give you a light sedative to help you relax" Dr. Choi said, and after he did that he left him alone.
His head was pumping, the heart monitor was still beeping fast;
he was again overwhelmed by the situation.
"Why does this have to happen to me?
The rehab was already taking so much time... I don't need to slow it down even more!
This is just crazy..."
Luckily the sedative didn't take too long to step in, and his thoughts could pause for a while.