Chapter Five

Nick was driving home thinking about the whole night. God, how he wished he had his daughter with him. That would complete the family he had already been adopted into.

He wished he hadn’t been so damn proper. He was longing to wake up next to her. Wake up to the hustle and bustle of the morning routine. Wake up feeling loved, needed, and wanted. He knew now. That was what was missing in his life.

Emma woke to her alarm. Damn it, she wished he had stayed. How long has she waited for a man to treat her right. He better not do a Jekyll and Hyde on her. When he put Katie to bed, it threw her over the edge, and she fell in love. She had to be rational about things. Her kids counted on that, and on her.

When she finally got out of bed and opened her door, she found her kids still sleeping.

“Hey! Get up, you guys. Get ready for school! Move it. Move it.”

The kids groggily complied. It was like a group of zombies. The more they moved, the more they woke. By quarter to eight, they were ready to go to school. Luckily, Katie was still asleep. Emma lay back down with Katie after the kids left. A good nap is just what the doctor ordered.

Well, for a few minutes anyway. The phone rang. It was someone from the black shift; they needed a day off in two weeks. Emma checked her calendar and told them yes. Well, it was going to be interesting to work a shift with Nick again.

As the day went on, Emma went to see her parents Joe stayed with Katie. Emma walked into her childhood home. She found her Dad, Bob, or Pops as she called him first.

“Good afternoon Emma, you look different…..happy, just shy of glowing. “

“Nope the same little ole me.”

“Okay, but something seems different, Nina. Come in here. “

“Pops, please. I’ll go see Mom.”

“No, I want to see if she sees a change.”

“Yeah Bob what is it?” Mom said in an annoyed tone.

“Nina does Emma look different to you?”

I sent Mom a pleading look.

“There’s nothing different about me.”

“Nina?”

“I don’t see anything. Maybe it is just you.” Mom laughed.

“Really? You can’t see a light in your daughter’s eyes that wasn’t there before?”

“No, Bob, I don’t. “

“Okay maybe I need my eyes checked.”

Mom said “Let’s go to the kitchen, Emma.”

Her visit went exceptionally well considering all the worrying she had done. Only her thoughts kept returning to Nick and the night they spent together. She wondered if he thought about it as well.

Nick had been thinking about it. How could he spend any time away from her? She seemed to fill his whole life in a matter of weeks, even hours.

Emma called Nick, and they talked for an hour until the kids got home from school.

Emma woke the next day to her alarm going off. She got the kids up and went off to work. She saw Nick in passing as he left his extra shift. He said hi, and that was it. They texted back and forth, keeping it light. Her workday was full, and they didn’t even have time for a rig check. They were out the door to a call at the local nursing home for a resident with an oxygen saturation of 70%. They had another rig go with just in case this patient turned out to be a code. When they got there, the nurse taking care of the patient told Emma and her partner that the family was there and didn’t want the patient transported.

“Do you have a signed DNR?” Emma asked the nurse.

“Yes I have it somewhere.” The nurse replied.

“Well in order for me to leave, I am going to have to see and get a copy of the order for our records.”

“Why do you need that?”

“Because otherwise we could get sued for abandoning our patient. We need to get a current copy of the Do Not Resuscitate order signed by a doctor, or we will have to transport. It is a law set down from the state.” Emma coolly replied.

“Ok.” Said the nurse.

They got a copy of the DNR and went back to the rig to call medical control. The doctor at the hospital said to go ahead and return.

“Wow. You were quite insistent about that DNR.” Said Brian.

“Yeah well it is our license on the line, if that patient dies and the family sues. The DNR covers our butt. We worked hard to get our paramedic license, and we are not going to give it up that easy.” Emma said with a smile on her face.

Back at the station, Emma was the talk of the day. Brian was as proud as a peacock, recounting the story to anyone who would listen.

Later that day, Emma got a phone call. It was Nick; he wanted to see if she had plans for tomorrow. He invited her over to his place, and he would have Leslie, so she said yes, she would be over as soon as she picked up Katie.

The rest of the day went rather smoothly. Emma was somewhat preoccupied with the thoughts of tomorrow.

During the night, Emma and Brian were up for the next call, when one came in, for a 79 y/o male complaining of hip pain.The call was easy, so they cleared the hospital quickly. They were on their way back when it happened. They were turning when a drunk driver blew a red light and plowed into them. The impact caused the ambulance to tip on to its side. Emma and Brian were unconscious, still in their seats, thanks to the seat belts they were wearing.

Brian was the first to regain consciousness. He was trying to get his seat belt undone, and when he couldn’t he reached for his cell phone to call 911.

“911 what is your emergency?” The dispatcher asked.

“I am an EMT for a private ambulance, and we have just been hit by a driver who blew a red light. My partner is unconscious, and I can’t get out.” Brian said frantically.

“Where are you located, sir?”

“We are at the corners of Orchard and Jericho roads. There is going to be extrication, so send the fire department. We are also going to need more than one ambulance. There is a possibility of 3 injuries.” Brian said with a more calm authority.

Soon, the scene was crawling with fire, police, and EMS personnel. Ray, the owner of the ambulance service, was on the scene. I'm checking on his staff. Ray was a very good and caring boss. He was also working on notifying the families of the accident and getting coverage for them, at least for the next shift.

Emma was conscious now. She couldn’t remember what happened or where she was. She only knew that her arm, head, and neck hurt. She was on a backboard and c-collared. She tried to get up, but she found that she was strapped onto the board. A handsome young man came into her eyesight and said “Don’t worry, miss, you will be alright. You just got a good knock to the noggin, and I think you broke your arm.”

“Where am I and who are you?” She asked.

Well, I am Colin, and you are in the back of my rig at the corner of Orchard and Jericho.” He said. “You were in an accident. A guy ran a red light and hit you guys.”

“Where is my partner?”

“He is in another rig. He is in better shape than you are right now. It was your side that got hit. You just relax and let me take care of you.”

Emma semi-relaxed and closed her eyes.

When she awoke again, she asked, “Where am I and what happened?”

“You must have gotten a good knock to the head. You were in an accident, and you are on your way to the hospital. Your partner is in the rig behind us.” He said.

“What hospital are we going to?” Emma asked.

“Mercy. Ok?”

“Yes, Oh my god, my kids!” Emma exclaimed as she tried getting up off the backboard.

Colin placed his hand on her forehead and said, “Don’t worry, your boss was already calling your families and telling them where you were going.”

“Oh, crap. I hope he doesn’t call my ex-husband. Can you make sure the ER staff knows I don’t want him back in the room with me? He will just have to wait. Please?”

“No, problem, you just relax and get better. We are almost there, so I am going to give the hospital report. If you need me, just call out. I will be right behind you. Ok?”

“Yes, I am better now. Thank you.” Emma said.

Then Emma passed out again. When she woke up, she was in the ER being transferred to the bed.

She could hear Collin giving a report to the doctor.

“Yeah doc, this is an EMT from a private ambulance service that was involved in an MVA. They were t-boned on the passenger side, her side. We estimate about a 30-mile an hour impact that put the rig on its side. They were restrained. This is Emma, a 35 y/o female, passenger, positive LOC at the scene, and in the back of the rig. Vitals were stable and continued to be within normal limits. She kept repeating questions and doesn’t remember the wreck. Her right arm has a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale. Possible right arm fracture. Good radial pulse and capillary refill. Her boss called her family and they should be here soon. The patient requests that the ex-husband is not allowed back.”

“Hey don’t talk to about me like I am not here. I am awake. What happened, and why am I backboarded?” Emma asked.

“Hello, I am Dr. Panozzo, and I will be checking you out for a head injury. You were involved in a car accident, and you lost consciousness at the scene and in the back of the rig. Do you hurt anywhere?”

“Well now that you mention it, I do have a headache, and my neck and arm hurts. I think my back is ok except for this board. I have no allergies, and if you hand me my purse, you can find out my last period for the x-rays.” Emma said.

“Ok, well aren’t you the smart one. Collin, do you know where this nice lady’s purse went to?” Asked Dr. Panozzo.

“Ahh, yeah, I think the cop had it at the scene. I will call dispatch and tell them to get it over here for ya doc.”

“Thanks. Now miss,”

“Ok doc, call me Emma, I would feel better if you did.” Emma interjected.

“Ok Emma, do you have any past medical history I need to know about?”

“Yeah, 4 c-sections, a tonsillectomy when I was 7 and my gall bladder removed last year. Could we call my boyfriend so he could pick up my kids from school?” Emma asked.

“I will get the nurse in here with the portable phone so you can call, but it is not even time for school to get out yet. I am just going to check you out. If I touch anything that hurts, let me know.”

“Ok, you are the doc. You will be the first to know.” Emma said with a chuckle.

About a half-hour later, someone knocked at her door in the ER. It was Nick, “Hey girl, did you think you could get out of our date so easily?”

“Oh Haha, I don’t even know what happened. Where are my kids, do you know?” Emma inquired.

“Yeah, they are in the waiting room with him.”

“Oh crap, I guess they should come back here one at a time except Katie, she will have to come back with him. Can you go ask the nurse if it is ok if they come back?”

“Only if you give me a kiss first. I need to know you are all right. I have never been so scared. Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“Yeah, well, it was not on my top 10 to do list, but I will allow you to kiss me now.”

“Oh thank you, your majesty.” With that, Nick leaned over the bed and kissed her.

“If I wasn’t in this bed, oh what I wouldn’t do to you.”

“Yeah promises, promises. You better back it up, baby. Doc said he wanted to keep you for observation, I am going to stay as long as you do, so after the kids go, I will be back.”

“Ok tough guy, I will be waiting.”

As he left, Nick's Nick's she tried the other felt a pain in his heart; he had never felt before. It was worry, what he said was true, that phone call took years off his life. It is a good thing Ray and Nick are such good friends. He had told Ray about Emma and what was going on in his head. Ray was the first person who called him, and then Emma called and calmed him down.