Chapter 18
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Phoebe
“Look at you, little mama!” Ella squeals as she runs toward me.
We’re in another storm torn community and as wild as it sounds, I’ve got a baby bump already, even though it’s my first one.
Maybe it’s because I didn’t know I was pregnant for quite a few weeks since my period has never been particularly regular even with the implant.
Who knows? Regardless, I can’t help the smile that crosses my face as my hand cups my abdomen.
“I think I’m going to need bigger scrubs,” I admit as we hug.
We got into town just a little bit ago and now that Eli has the RV set up for us to live in for the foreseeable future, it’s time to find Thelma and get the lay of the land.
Working alongside Ella again promises to be a lot of fun and having Thelma nearby to help me start studying for the national NP certification test will be beneficial as well.
She shrugs then grins. “Good thing we can receive deliveries here,” she teases. “Where’s Eli?”
“He took Cami into town to pick up some groceries,” I reply. Since my appetite has been all over the place, he figured it would be easier to wait until we got here to see what kind of food I was craving.
“Then let’s go see Thelma,” she says. When she spots my engagement ring, her eyes widen. “Holy smokes, that’s a huge ring.”
I hold up my left hand and smile as the sun hits the diamonds, making them sparkle. “He asked me before we left. And he got me a necklace to wear it on, so I don’t tear up my gloves.”
“Are you happy?” she asks, looping her arm in mine as we walk toward what I already know is the primary tent.
“So, so happy,” I admit. “We’re compromising on the wedding. I was okay with having another courthouse wedding, which he vetoed because he kind of wants the whole shebang, so when we get back home, we’ll have it at the clubhouse. You’re gonna come, right? I want you to be my maid of honor.”
“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” she replies as we make it to where Thelma is standing.
“Cortez!” she exclaims, drawing me in for a hug. “I hope you’re ready.”
“For?” I ask. “To work? Yes. To get married again? Still kind of scared about that but Eli’s the love of my life and I couldn’t ask for a better man.”
“To learn what you need to know to pass your test, of course,” she replies.
“That too, Thelma. Now, fill me in on what we’re going to be doing.”
“I was thinking,” Eli says as we sit at our small kitchenette and eat dinner. Cami’s in her highchair, making a mess which is nothing unusual or new.
“About what?” I ask.
“How do you feel about getting a ring tattoo once we’re married? You’d still have a wedding band, of course, but I know with what you do that wearing a ring while you’re working might be hard. Or I could get you one of those silicone ones?”
“I like the tattoo idea but wouldn’t mind having one of the rubber ones I’ve seen other nurses I work with at the hospital wear as well. Would you design the tattoo?”
“Yeah, sweetheart,” he says.
Tears spring to my eyes and when I see his widen in alarm, I wave my hand in front of my face and say, “Pregnancy hormones. Pretty much everything has me near tears these days. Or horny.”
“Well, I can help with one of those things,” he teases. “Let me get Little Miss Messy Bessie cleaned up and put down for the night, then we can see what we can do to tame the hormonal beast living inside of you.”
I start giggling as I begin cleaning up our dinner.
Thankfully, today wasn’t a long one, mostly paperwork on my end, as well as meeting some of the other people on the crew that I’ll be working with.
Thelma also gave me a book of practice tests to start working on, but that’s not happening tonight, not with the promise in Eli’s eyes, anyhow.
“How does it just keep getting better?” I gasp out, trying to fill my lungs with oxygen.
“Because it’s us and we love each other,” he replies, his hands running up and down my back as the aftershocks of my orgasm slowly ebb.
“I… I can’t really disagree with that,” I murmur, nuzzling my head against his shoulder. Exhaustion rolls over me and I yawn, causing him to chuckle.
“Let’s get some sleep, sweetheart,” he suggests. “Tomorrow promises to be a busy day.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” I mumble as sleep starts to pull me under. “Love you, Eli.”
“Love you more, Phoebe,” he says, kissing my temple.
“Looking good, Cortez,” Thelma says as she walks by the gurney where I’m currently assessing a new patient. I’ve already had her provide a urine sample and am now doing a blood draw, although I suspect based on her reported symptoms she’s got a urinary tract infection.
Still, based on her age, it’s not a bad idea to rule out any underlying issues, such as diabetes, which is what I’m doing now. A complete blood panel workup, including her A1C, will give me a better picture.
“Okay, Emily, is there anything else you need to tell me?” I ask once I’ve finished drawing her blood. Amber, a certified nursing assistant, comes by and grabs the labeled tubes so we can get them to the lab.
“I don’t think so,” she says. “What next?”
“Well, while we wait for the lab results, I’m going to treat the symptoms. One of the meds I prescribe will help you urinate with minimal pain, and the other is the antibiotic that will clear out any infection.
Make sure you drink plenty of water to help flush it out, and if you’re still experiencing some discomfort, you can use a heating pad until the medication kicks in.
Once we have your test results back, I’ll give you a call if there’s anything we need to change.
Let me get Thelma over here so she can get the prescriptions written for you. ”
I manage to locate Thelma and quickly go over the symptoms that Emily presented with, ending with my diagnosis and prescribed treatment plan.
It’s one of the things I have to do for my NP certification, and I keep my eyes on the tablet I’m using that pretty much walks me through everything step by step.
“I agree with what you’ve found so far,” she says once I’m finished explaining the diagnosis. She pulls out her prescription pad and fills it out before she hands it to me. “How are you liking this so far?”
“It’s a bit different,” I admit. “I mean, I know I’ve always mentally tried to figure out what was going on with a patient, but I left the official diagnosis for the doctor. Realizing that I’ll be the one doing it is a bit of a jump.”
“Not too big of one, though, especially not after your work in the Carolinas,” she replies. “Now, while there’s a lull, go take a lunch break. I’m sure your future husband would like to put his eyes on you. Then, I’ll check your wound before you start back up.”
I grin because compared to how it looked when it first happened, it looks fantastic.
I clean it daily, of course, but I know Thelma plans to take a few scrapings just to make sure everything’s still okay and an infection hasn’t set in again.
All I know is I’m glad I don’t have the wound vac any longer.
It was a bit of a pain in the ass, especially when the wound began to close.
Because of the angle of the sponge and vacuum seal, I had frequent leaks and that alarm was heart attack inducing!
“Works for me, I’ll see you shortly,” I say.
Walking back over to Emily, I hand her the prescription that Thelma wrote and remind her that as soon as we have her test results in, one of us will give her a call.
After she leaves, I quickly clean the area then head over to the RV, my mind already on Cami and Eli.
“Wish I could have some caffeine,” I grumble. “I’m so tired right now it’s not funny.”
“Things have slacked off, I can cover for you so you can go take a nap,” Ella suggests. “You know that fatigue is your body’s way of saying you need sleep.”
“But other than that, I feel pretty good,” I reply. “And it hits at such random times, too!”
“Because you’re growing another human, my friend. Remember, the baby takes everything from you, so maybe you need to start eating more or see if there’s another supplement you can take besides your prenatal vitamin.”
I gag a little bit because those things are like horse pills.
Normally, I don’t have a problem taking pills, not that I have to do that all that often, but there’s something about my prenatals that makes me almost physically sick.
“I think I need a gummy prenatal,” I confess.
“I usually end up throwing up shortly after I take it. And before you say anything, I’ve tried it in the morning, afternoon, and night.
I’ve eaten before taking it, not eaten, and chased it with a protein shake.
Nothing helps, Ella, and I’m worried that I’m hurting the baby. ”
“Let me put my head together with Thelma and we’ll figure something out. You go take a nap, my friend,” she says.
I don’t argue, instead, I head toward our RV, grinning when I see Eli walking around the parking lot with the stroller, Cami and Kevin safely ensconced inside.
Entering our home away from home, I waste no time and strip down before taking a shower.
That’s something I doubt I’ll ever change, since I don’t know what germs I might have come in contact with, and I refuse to take a chance with Cami’s health or that of my unborn baby’s.
Now in comfy lounge clothes, I faceplant on our bed and before Eli makes it back, I’m out like a light.
When I wake up, I’m so disoriented, I don’t know what day it is or anything. Grunting as I roll off the bed, I head into the bathroom to relieve my overflowing bladder, then wash my hands before I head out into the main part of the RV.
“Did you have a good nap?” Eli asks as he putters around the tiny kitchen. “You were zonked out when I came back from my walk.”
“At least I didn’t sleep much longer,” I say, “but yeah, it was a good nap.” Leaning up, I kiss the underside of his chin then smile. “Ella’s gonna check with Thelma about my prenatal vitamins to see if there’s something else I can take.”
“Good. I hate that you’re so fucking sick every time you take one,” he replies. “Made you some comfort food if you’re hungry.”
“Mashed potatoes?” I ask, almost jumping up and down.
“From scratch, sweetheart,” he teases as he pulls a plate down from the cupboard. “Plus, I’ve got fried chicken in the air fryer.”
“No wonder I love you so much,” I say, grinning at him as he fills my plate and hands it to me. “At the rate I’m going, I’m going to gain too much weight.”
His smile turns into a scowl and he states, “Not likely as sick as you’ve been. What little weight you’re carrying in the bump is hardly enough to tip the scales, Phoebe. The book says you should be gaining steadily, and I think you’ve lost more than you’ve gained.”
I pat my tiny belly and grin. “That’s why Ella and Thelma are going to do a little research.
We’ve tried everything, Eli. Smaller meals, eating every two hours, taking those stupid vitamins at every conceivable time and nothing has worked.
Heck, not even those ginger candies you found for me do all that much.
They help a little bit, but I promise you, even though not much bothers me considering what I do for a living, I’m tired of throwing up every time I turn around. ”
“We’ll figure it out, Phoebe,” he promises as he comes toward me with his own plate. I look around and see that Cami is busy feeding herself and Kevin, who has quickly learned that she frequently drops things on the floor. He may be a cat, but he’s got the appetite of a dog.
“I hope so.”
“Want to watch a movie once we clean everything up?” he asks. “Because you still look a bit tired, so I think that would be the best idea for us tonight.”
Yawning, I nod. “Thelma said we were going to be busy tomorrow. They’re bussing in a group of senior citizens from a local assisted living facility to be checked out.”
Thankfully, most of the people who were badly injured have already been sent to local hospitals for treatment and care. We’re now seeing those whose injuries were minimal enough that they could wait to be seen until we arrived and got set up.
“Then that’s our plan for tonight,” he decrees.
Surprising neither one of us, I’m asleep ten minutes into the movie, leaving Eli to lock everything down for the night.