"Mom, I'll be down in a few okay, just need to pull the kids through the bath" Tegan yelled down the stairs.
"I'll come help you" Sonia answered.
Tegan walked into the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her were two toddlers covered from head to toe in shaving foam.
Tegan burst out laughing, she laughed so hard that she eventually found herself on the floor taking a puff of her inhaler. Sonia heard the commotion too and was standing in the doorway holding her stomach laughing.
"What have you two done, oh my god look at you" Tegan couldn't stop laughing. She pulled her phone out and took a photo of the kids who were now over their initial shock of being caught in the act and was now laughing too and showing off.
Ryan took the shaving foam can and pointed it at Tegan. "Oh no you don't" Tegan laughed and rolled away in time.
"Why did you do this guys? This is very naughty" Tegan tried to sound angry but she couldn't stop laughing.
"Bubbles" Ryan grinned.
"Oh you were looking for the bubble bath? Yeah right"
"Well, I guess that will teach me to not leave my stuff out" Tegan laughed.
Casey was rubbing the foam all over her belly and arms. "Is nice" she grinned.
"Yeah it does actually smell nice in here. Come on you two rascals. Stand in the bath so I can hose you off"
-0-
"Cameron, your EKG is normal, the echo is normal" said Tori standing next to the exam table Cameron was laying on.
"The bloods?" asked Cam still looking panicked.
"KT is running them now, as you know we don't have a full lab here but we can do the basics. It will tell us if there's something more to worry about"
"Shit" Cam was breathing hard and fast.
"Listen to me" Tori said gently and took Cam's hand.
"You're okay, deep breaths"
Cam nodded and took a deep, shuddering breath but her hand was still shaking.
"Want to tell me what you were doing when this happened?"
"I… I was on the yacht with Tegan and her family. The kids got upset about something and they were crying… then Tegan was crying… and... I don't know… I"
"It touched you?"
"Well yeah of course it did… but"
"But what?"
"It just… it felt like someone was ripping my heart out of my chest there for a second" Cam was starting to hyperventilate. She clutched her chest and groaned.
"Calm down, deep breath. I think you're having a panic attack"
"Huh?" Cam looked at Tori as if she was crazy.
"Yeah a panic attack, I'm looking at your 12 lead EKG and it's perfect, super fast but good"
"I don't…. understand… I… I"
"Okay just relax, calm down. Take nice deep breaths. Shhhh. Deep breaths"
Cam closed her eyes and took a couple of deep, shuddering breaths. Tori listened to her chest again.
"Sounds perfectly normal but I'm going to call your cardiologist in LA or Boston just to run this EKG and the bloodwork by them okay?"
"Okay, thank you" Cam whispered looking pale. She started crying.
"Hey it's ok. We're going to sort this out. Just relax, we've got you" said Tori holding Cam's hand.
"I'm scared" Cam cried louder.
"I know honey, I know. Shhhh try and calm down now"
Cam was feeling a bit better a few minutes later but Tori forced her to stay put until her cardiologist phoned back to discuss the EKG and test results. Her phone buzzed and as she picked up the phone her fingerprint automatically opened the phone. On the screen was a photo of Tegan's kids covered from top to bottom in shaving cream. Cam laughed out loud.
"Oh my gosh… these two crack me up" Cam started laughing although her eyes were still swollen and her face blotchy from her earlier crying session. She couldn't stop laughing after watching a video of Casey dancing with her shaving cream outfit. She showed the phone to Tori who was now also laughing out loud.
Cam stopped laughing and stared at the screen when Tori handed it back, she started breathing faster again, she swallowed hard.
"Cameron? You okay?" Tori asked gently.
"Yeah… I just… I kind of felt that… ache again" Cam whispered.
Tori looked at the EKG and hit print, she tore off a strip of paper showing Cam's heartbeat for the last two minutes.
"Looks perfectly fine Cam. There's a bit of an increase here but nothing else to worry about"
"This is embarrassing"
"Why would it be embarrassing"
"Because, I probably just felt a little bit emotional and I have a freak out about it… and then I have a panic attack… seriously? I'm so embarrassed. God… right in front of KT too…" Cam shook her head.
"Hey, it's okay to panic sometimes. It's normal. It's normal to feel paranoid about this new heart Cam"
"No, it's not… I'm supposed to be a doctor. To know the difference between a panic attack and a heart attack"
"That's not the same Cam. I know from experience. It's fine, you're doing so well"
Cam just shook her head.
"She's right you know" said KT walking into the room.
"You're doing great. It's pretty normal to panic every now and then" Cam looked down, embarrassed. Her eyes landed on the scar on KT's hand. She remembered how close KT came to never operating again after being attacked in the ER and how fucked up she was at the time because of it. She was one hundred percent back to her old, radiant, confident self now, but it took a lot of hard work, physically and mentally.
KT lifted her hand and flexed her fingers open and closed while looking at it. "Tori and I both understand what you're going through. We're here if you need to talk okay?"
"I don't think you do… you don't have another person's heart beating inside of you… and if it stopped you're dead!" Cam seemed to be panicking again.
"Alright, okay… deep breaths" KT coaxed.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry" Cam mumbled through tears.
Tori and KT took a while to calm Cameron down again.
"So, I had a talk to your cardiologist in LA, sent through the EKG and bloodwork. She is confident it's nothing to worry about. She's happy to wait for your next biopsy. She said that even if you did get a weird kind of ache or pain, it sometimes happens after a transplant. Heart's just trying to get comfy" KT winked.
"Bullshit" Cam spat out and shook her head.
"What's bullshit?"
"This… I don't think this is normal"
"She said you can call her any time to discuss this? But your bloodwork and your EKG are as normal as they come"
Cam let out a breath through pursed lips that caused her cheeks to puff out.
"Cam, if you want we can send you to the hospital for the night so they can monitor you. Or I can keep an eye on you at home. I'm quite happy to do that but it's up to you. If you would feel more comfortable in h…"
"No, thanks… I'm fine. I want to go home" said Cam looking embarrassed.
"Okay, don't worry, I've got you" said Tori and squeezed Cam's hand.
-0-
Kate stood at the scrub sink washing her hands after surgery when Sax walked in.
"Hey there's my little superstar! Congratulations, I hear it went great"
"Thanks Sax! It went well" Kate smiled looking tired and pale.
"You okay? You look a bit pale"
"I'm fine. It was just a tough surgery. All good"
"Dr Morgan, you're not going to believe this but it looks as if we just got a heart and lungs for Aaron Jeffries" said a resident walking in.
"You're kidding! Yes!" Kate grinned from ear to ear and took the ipad with information from the guy. She studied it for a few moments.
"Looks good. Call UNOS, tell them we'll take it. Get the procurement team ready. The transplant coordinator will probably already be busy arranging the flight to San Jose. I need to go update my patient's parents. I'll be in the conference room in 10 to brief everyone"
The resident nodded and left the room.
"Who are you getting to do the transplant?" Sax asked leaning against the scrub sink.
"I'm doing it" Kate said.
"You can not be serious? After the day you had? You're supposed to be on restricted duty not increased duty" Sax said looking mad.
"Okay firstly, I am serious"
"But…"
"Let me finish please"
Sax shrugged.
"Secondly, I'm perfectly fine. This is my patient. I got him this far, I'm doing it. McKenzie can assist but I'm doing it. The organs won't be here for another 3 or 4 hours at least. I'll have plenty of time to rest up"
Sax shook her head. "You're full of shit Morgan. And crazy"
"Learnt from the best" Kate winked.
"Make sure you get some dinner and some rest please. Hydrate"
"Promise" Kate smiled.
"Good luck, I'm going home, see you tomorrow"
"I have tomorrow off"
"You'll still be here by the time I get back"
"Have a good evening Sax, give my love to Jude"
"Will do. Oh and Kate" Sax said at the door.
"Yeah"
"I'm really proud of you" Sax didn't wait for a reply.
Kate grinned and headed out to update her patient's parents. Hearing those words from her mentor and friend meant the world to her.
A/N: Again, sorry I've been so slow with the updates but at least you got 3 in one day. Please review, I love hearing from you.