Meg couldn't help but laugh as she carried her catch into the kitchen. "Who caught dinner? Remind me again, please!" She could hear Dean grumbling as he pulled the hose out to rinse off the boat. The door helped muffle the sound of her laughter. "Poor guy. Out-fished by his girlfriend. HaHaHa! These are beautiful, though. Not a whole lot better than freshly caught fish grilled to flakey perfection…" She rinsed the fillets and put them in the refrigerator. Since they were both active in the fire department again, she wasn't going to leave anything on the counter – no use running the risk of spoiling meat. Yesterday's field fire was a prime example of how long and wrong a call could go. With dinner safely secured for the time being, Meg headed back outside to help clean the boat. She grabbed a soapy sponge and went to work on the bow while Dean flushed the engine. About the time Meg finished suds-ing exterior of the boat, Dean was also finished with the motor and began rinsing the soap. "The only drawback to going out on the boat is all the cleanup."
Dean wrapped his arms around Meg and growled, "Wasn't today worth it?"
Meg leaned her head back against his shoulder and folded her arms on top of his, caressing his warm skin with her fingertips. Turning to the side, she placed a kiss on the carotid artery in his neck. Feeling his heartbeat against her lips was interesting and new. She whispered against his skin, "You know exactly what I meant." Dean's arms tightened, pressing his re-awakened excitement against her. Meg pulled her face away from his neck and looked up into his eyes with what could only be described as an ornery glint. "So, is this a persistent condition that you find yourself in or something that only comes up on occasion? You know that if it last for more than four hours…"
"I'm not on any damn blue pills!" Dean thundered. "I'm too damn young for that and you're the reason I… WOMAN!" Meg was laughing at his overly defensive reaction. "You know I'm getting you back for that."
Turning in his arms and tapping her fingers on his chest with a grin blossoming across her face, Meg smirked. "Is that supposed to scare me or arouse me? Hmm? Let me know so I can run or start strippi-ing-ack!" Suddenly she was thrown over his shoulder and they were heading for the back door.
Dean paused mid-stride when warble tones filled the air followed by a piercing shriek. The couple listened to the call that was disatched and sobered quickly. He up-righted Meg and held her face between his hands tenderly. "We don't know who it is and we don't have to go."
Running both hands down his chest lightly, she shook her head. "Yes, we do. We both know it. Just…"
He kissed her forehead hard. "Always." Clutching her hand, he walked Meg to his truck and closed the passenger door. Then he walked to the driver's side and drove to the fire house. Once the truck was parked, the couple met at the tailgate and walked to the bay doors hand-in-hand.
The chief and Roman were standing in front of the fire house in silence. "You know who this is, right?" Roman asked.
Meg looked at the chief and took a deep breath. "Unless you have another qualified EMT here, I don't see another option. I'll go and I'll do it. It'll suck week-old maggot-infested rat balls, but I can treat Chris." She rolled her shoulders and headed for the passenger side of the ambulance.
"Well." The chief looked at Dean and Roman. "With that lovely image, I guess I'll accompany Meg. You two take the medical assist unless someone else shows up. This is going to be tense enough with her there. Dean, try to stay outside if you can. Yes, that's an order." The chief hopped into the ambulance and hit the siren, screaming out of the fire house.
Roman grabbed Dean's shoulder. "Meg is one hell of a woman."
Dean shook his head. "I don't know how she does it. That bastard treated her like shit and she's swallowing it to help him…"
Jay, Seth and Renee walked up from behind the rescue. "Who's helping who?" Catching the look on Dean's face, Renee flushed bright red. "Oh, hell no! You did NOT let her go!" Dean tilted his head as if to say 'really, like I could stop her'.
"Meg and I are secure. And she is the best at what she does. I just need to be there with her, not here gabbing. Get on the rescue if you are going." Dean strode for the big red truck and yanked open the door. His friends scrambled to grab their gear and get on the truck as it rolled out of the fire house.
Roman laid on the air horn. "Just so she knows you are comin'."
"She knows." Dean said. "There's not a doubt in her mind."
With the ambulance parked in front of her former residence, Meg slammed the passenger door and headed for the back of the rig. "What are you doing?" the chief asked.
"Getting the gurney and supplies. From the information dispatch gave us, I have a suspicion of what we are going to find." Meg swung up into the back and grabbed the 'go' bags, dropped them on the gurney, and gave it a shove towards the chief who easily took the metal frame and started towards the house. Dropping to the ground, Meg secured the ambulance and followed.
Once they arrived at the front door, Chris's girlfriend opened it in tears. "I just don't know what happened. He was fine and then he started slurring and stumbling and falling. He doesn't make any sense to me! He can't move his right side. I just don't know… Why is SHE here?!" she screeched as she caught sight of Meg.
The chief, being a man of very large stature, gently but forcefully backed the screaming banshee into the house and into a hallway. Meg followed him in, thankful that her chief was a gentle giant. Chief might be damn near seven feet tall but he'd rarely hurt a fly. Well, unless he gets really pissed. I've only seen that a couple of times and it's a scary sight. Usually he's such a sweetheart. Kneeling on the floor beside her slumped former husband, she began taking his vitals. Time to focus. If this isn't a bad drunken episode, if this really is a stroke, then it's bad. He's too young. It's gonna be massive. We're already inside the window and don't know how long he's been like this. "Chief, we need a time frame!" she shouted. "Critical information!" Shit, shit, shit. What the hell, Chris? As Meg used her penlight to check his pupils Chris incoherently garbled a mismatch of sounds as he tried to grab for her arm. Meg wrapped her hand around his wrist and crooned softly, "Chris, I know you are scared. You have got to try and regulate your breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Stay calm. Shhh…" Meg heard the sound of multiple footsteps approaching. "Do you know who I am?" Chris nodded. "That's good." Meg held up one finger on the hand that wasn't restraining Chris. "Do you know where you are?" He nodded again. "That's good." Meg drew in a breath. "Do you know what happened?" Chris shook his head. "Alright. It's alright. Breathe. Breathe. Slow, calming breaths." Meg looked towards the hall. "Chief! Really need that info! How far into the window are we?" Returning her gaze to Chris she gentled her tone. "I know you want to fight. That will make this really bad. We're going to put you on the gurney. That is going to happen. If you help, that would be great. If you fight, we'll just tie you down and that will scare you more." Roman took the foot of the gurney and brought it alongside Meg. Jay stood beside the gurney and Seth stood at the head. Dean waited behind the couch, watching move that Meg's former husband made. Sick or not, he didn't trust the other man. Meg handed Dean her penlight and moved to the side. "Okay, Chris. We are going to move you now." As one unit, everyone began to move their patient and former friend onto the gurney. Meg watched as Chris's face went from blank slate to confusion to anger as his girlfriend's voice raised in the back of the house. "Easy. Easy!" Meg warned just prior to his combative outbreak. The men got him onto the gurney and she leaned over to pin his knees, grasping for the straps. Dean straight-armed his chest as Seth strapped his forehead. Jay caught one swinging arm and Dean wrangled the other, pinning them to his chest before strapping him there as well. "We got his legs. Let's move before something comes lose." Meg gathered her instruments and bags, following behind the gurney. "Chief!" she called.
