FINN HELD MAIA in his arms. A movie was playing on the television but neither of them was watching. They had planned to go out until Finn found out that both his dad and Sean would be gone for the evening. Breaks like that didn’t come along very often. Sean was at a friend’s house, probably getting in trouble. And his dad had a date with the doctor. When he asked Maia if she wanted to stay in, she agreed enthusiastically. The first thing they did was grab some quality time on his bed. They hadn’t planned it, but their kissing and petting led to the ultimate move. They made love. It was a little clumsy and awkward. And it was unbelievable.
Once they were successfully joined, it lasted about twenty seconds, but to Finn’s enormous relief, Maia was satisfied. He knew he would be. In fact, he was afraid he might be satisfied before it was even complete. Hell, he nearly came just thinking about her. But she was smiling and sighing.
“Okay?” he asked.
“I was ready apparently,” she said, smiling.
Maia was nervous about the prospect of Rob or Sean coming home unexpectedly so they dressed quickly and moved to the living room to watch a movie. Prom was in two weeks, graduation in four. And Finn couldn’t remember ever being this happy. The most beautiful girl in school loved him.
He kissed her forehead. “I love you,” he said.
She laughed a little. “I didn’t think you liked me that much. It sure took a long time to get your attention.”
“I’m trying to figure out how to go to NAU next fall. Or get you to Boulder. How long is the drive? I have a feeling I’m going to be on the road a lot.”
“It’s going to be a very long year,” she said. “If we’re still together after a while, maybe we can figure out how to go to the same school?”
“You getting bored with me?” Finn asked. “Because I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to dump me because, otherwise, I think you’re stuck with me.”
She started rubbing her temples with her fingertips.
“Want me to rub your shoulders? Neck?”
“I just have a headache again.”
“I think you’re supposed to use the headache as an excuse before sex, not after,” he said, adding a little chuckle. “Are you having a lot of headaches?”
“More than usual,” she said. “My mom made an appointment to get my eyes checked next week. Do you have aspirin or something?”
“Advil,” he said. “Want me to get you a couple?”
“I’ll do it,” she said, getting up. “Just tell me where.”
“Kitchen cupboard, over the oven.” He grabbed her hand as she started to walk away. “Hey,” he said, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. “Will you think I’m a total pig if I tell you I can’t wait until we can relax a little, get totally naked and hold on to each other all night?”
She smiled at him and said, “Then I’m a total pig, too.” And then she winced and her eyes reflected some pain.
“Let me get you the Advil,” he said, standing. “Just sit down and relax. Maybe it’s like a migraine or something.”
Her mouth hung open and she seemed frozen. Dazed.
“Hey, Maia...”
Her knees collapsed and she went down.
“Maia!”
Finn caught her and softened her fall. Her eyes were still open. She seized, then trembled, gurgling in the back of her throat. He felt her neck for a pulse, grabbed a pillow off the sofa for her head and ran for the phone. He dialed 911, kneeling at her side. When there was a connection he screamed into the phone. “My girlfriend! She passed out! I think she’s having some kind of seizure! Help! I need help!” Then he forced himself to calm down. “Please send some help!”
“On the way,” the dispatcher said. “Is she breathing?”
“I think so.”
“Can you roll her gently onto her left side, protect her head and see if you can detect breathing.”
“She’s making some noises,” he said. “She had a headache. Oh God, she’s not coming out of it!”
“Medical is on the way,” she repeated. “Is your door unlocked so they can get in?”
“I’ll get that,” he said, getting up and taking the short distance at a run. Then he was back at Maia’s side, terrified. He gently stroked her hair away from her face. “Unlocked,” he said.
“Is she still seizing?” the dispatcher asked.
“Trembling,” he said. “Shaking and jerking a little bit.”
“It may last a couple of minutes,” she said. “Stay calm and try to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself by hitting something. Don’t let her fall. Where is she?”
“I caught her,” he said. “She’s on the floor. I put a pillow under her head. What’s the matter with her? Is she going to die?”
“Let’s just keep her safe until Medical gets there. Is she breathing?”
“She’s making noises so she must be. I can feel a pulse. Maia?” he called gently. “Maia? Can you hear me? Maia?”
“Sir?” the dispatcher beckoned. “Can you smell her breath? Tell me if she has fruity smelling breath?”
He’d been kissing her. Her breath smelled like a recent Tic Tac. “No,” he said. “She had a breath mint.”
“How old is she?”
“Seventeen. Almost eighteen. We both are. We were watching a movie.”
“Is she diabetic?”
“She didn’t say she was. She’d tell me, wouldn’t she?”
“Did she take anything? Any drugs?”
“She was going to get some Advil for a headache and she passed out.”
“Is she suffering from a head injury? Concussion? Anything?”
“She’s been having some headaches,” he said, a catch in his voice. “She said she was going to get her eyes checked...”
“Do you know if she could have accidentally ingested anything? Could you have given her anything? Anything at all?”
“I’d never do that,” he said. “I don’t know if she took anything. Oh, she takes birth control pills. She told me.”
“Any other drugs? Maybe diet pills?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t do drugs. I don’t do drugs.”
“Marijuana? Sleeping pills? Prescription medication? Pain pills?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
“Alcohol? Maybe some drinks?” she asked.
“We weren’t drinking. We were just watching a movie! Jesus, where are they?”
“They’re en route,” she said. “Anything unusual about her behavior? Slurring? Stumbling? Off balance?”
“She had a headache!” he yelled.
“Stay on the line, sir. Stay with me until Medical arrives. How about food allergies?”
“I don’t think so,” he said.
He heard the sirens, and if he could hear them they would be almost there. The fire department was just a few blocks away—he heard the sirens every time they left the firehouse. In two minutes the door opened and Connie Boyle and another firefighter came in carrying a stretcher and a couple of big duffels of medical supplies and equipment. His dad had been feeding and watering all firefighters, rescue personnel and cops for years at the pub—he knew almost all of them by name.
“Connie! Oh Jesus,” Finn said. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks. “I don’t know what happened.”
“I got it, Finn,” Connie said, starting by listening to her heart. Then he took her blood pressure and recited some numbers that meant nothing to Finn.
“Don’t ask me all those questions, like is she taking drugs,” Finn said. “I’m sure she’s not taking drugs. We can call her parents and ask if she’s diabetic but I don’t think so.”
“Don’t worry, Finn. We got all your answers. Look, she’s coming around,” Connie said.
Maia was rolling her head back and forth, moaning. “Maia!” he said, leaning down to put his lips on her forehead. But Connie pushed him back.
“Give her some space, she’s not quite conscious. She won’t be for a while. We’re going to call her parents, take her to the nearest emergency facility, get her evaluated and, if necessary, admitted. She’s postictal and semiconscious because she had a seizure. We’re going to start an IV so we can administer drugs if necessary. Can you give me her parents’ number so I can call them?”
“I don’t have a number,” Finn said. “I just have her cell number.”
“We’ll get it.” Then he asked Finn some questions—her parents’ names, where they lived, asked him to describe the incident, asked if she had a condition that caused seizures, like epilepsy.
Connie’s radio was talking to him. He completed his transmission and looked at Finn. “We’re taking her to the hospital in Breckenridge. Her parents will meet us there.”
“I’m going with you,” Finn said.
“You’ll be stuck without a car. But you can follow—we’re not running code. She’s stable.”
“Finn?” a small voice said. “Finn?”
“I’m here,” he said, leaning closer.
Maia clutched his hand. “Did I faint? What happened?”
Finn looked at Connie, worry and indecision creasing his brow. Connie just nodded. “It seemed like you had a seizure or something, Maia. I called the paramedics. They’re going to take you to the hospital and your parents will come. I’ll follow the ambulance. You’re going to be all right.”
“How’s your head?” Connie asked her.
She closed her eyes. “It feels big. And fuzzy.”
“You’ll get some help with that in the emergency room,” Connie said. “Try to relax. Tell me what day it is?” He asked her a few silly questions—who’s the president, what month is it, when do you graduate? She answered them all accurately and he stopped.
Right at that moment Rob burst through the door, panic on his face. “What’s going on, Finn? You all right?”
“I’m fine, Dad. I’ll explain in a minute. They’re taking Maia to the hospital and I’m going. She had a seizure or something so I called 911.”
“Connie?” Rob said.
“Business as usual, Rob, everything is under control. Maia needs to be seen by a doctor. We’ll start an IV and take her. Your son handled the situation like a pro. He’s going to follow us in his own vehicle.”
“I’ll take him,” Rob said. Then he put a hand on Finn’s shoulder and said, “Thank God you’re okay. And thank God Maia is all right.”
“She’s not all right yet,” Finn said. “We have to get her to the hospital. I’ll tell you about it in the car. You should call Sean.”
It was a very long night for Rob since Finn could not be coerced to leave Maia in the safety of hospital staff and her parents. It was after midnight when Maia’s mother came to the waiting room to tell them that Maia was being admitted at least for the night. Finn had begged to see her, at least to say goodbye, which he did under the supervision of her parents.
“I can stay,” Finn said.
“She’s very groggy and needs to sleep,” Mrs. MacElroy said. “I can give you a call in the morning and tell you how she’s doing. Or maybe she’ll call you herself. I take it there are going to be some tests.”
It was about six in the morning when Rob heard Finn’s phone ring, heard his soft talking in the room next door and got up to investigate. He learned that Maia was being transferred to Denver to have tests in their neurology department. “I’m staying home today,” Finn said. “I can’t use my phone at school and I want to hear what’s going on with her. If you need some help at the pub, I can do that. As soon as she knows something and I can see her, I’ll be driving to Denver. I hope you don’t have a problem with that because I’m going.”
“I understand, Finn,” Rob said. What he didn’t tell him was that this awakened some memories he’d rather not be having. Memories like when Julienne was sick, when she couldn’t breathe, when her chest hurt and her pulse raced and he and two little boys rushed her to the hospital. And she didn’t come out. “You must have been so scared.”
“You have no idea,” Finn said.
He had a very good idea.
He hadn’t slept much, of course. At one, two and three in the morning he had wanted to turn on the light, sit up and call Leigh. He had a feeling she would understand and forgive him. Being a physician, she might even have a few words he would find encouraging. But that was not all there was to his desire to call her. Being with her, even when she was her sassy self, brought him comfort. It had been a long time since he had a woman in his life who would make him feel safe and embraced.
On his way to the pub, he dropped by the clinic. He asked Leigh if she had time for a cup of coffee. They closed her office door and he told her all about Maia. When they’d talked over the whole event and she’d thrown out a few suggestions, he thanked her. “Poor kids,” he said. “And poor me. I had such a good time last night and I was looking forward to falling asleep with a beautiful doctor on my mind, ready for good dreams.”