A strange wave of guilt washed over her as she waited for her name to be called. She was there to have someone take blood out of her. The others in the lobby were there to have toxic medicine infused into them. They were bound to be sick for hours or days after their treatments . . . Emma was likely to be tired and fatigued but bounce back in a day or two at most. And that was where the guilt came in.
Emma couldn’t help but wonder if this seemingly simple visit was the beginning of something worse. A dark cloud of worry never felt far away.
“You’re only here for the vampires, amore.”
Either Gio was reading her mind, or he was thinking the same thing.
The two of them sat in the waiting room, quietly chatting.
Finally, her name was called, and they both stood up.
The man taking them back introduced himself as her nurse and asked her to confirm why she was there.
“And this is your first treatment?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever given blood before?”
“No.”
They were led to an open room where curtains offered privacy to patients sitting in large reclining chairs who had IVs and medicine flowing into their veins.
Emma felt a little dizzy before sitting down.
“Your blood pressure is a little high.”
“I’m nervous.”
The nurse pulled up a rolling chair and opened a cart and started removing several things.
Emma looked around and saw a dozen employees scurrying about.
“How are you two today?” As the nurse asked the question, he tied a tourniquet around Emma’s arm to start her IV.
Her poor, tattered veins looked like she had a drug habit. “We’d be better if I didn’t need to come here,” she answered honestly.
“What was your name again?” Gio asked.
He turned his badge around.
“Robert . . . but call me Bob.”
Emma started laughing and looked at Gio.
“We won’t hold that against him,” Gio said.
“Do you have a bad Bob in your life?” Bob asked.
“Kinda.”
“You’re going to feel a stick.”
Emma held still. “I’m getting used to it.”
“Doesn’t make it fun.”
Emma stiffened as her skin was poked.
“Sorry. We have to use a bigger needle since we’re taking blood. We don’t want it clotting.”
Bob tapped the cannula in place and hooked up an empty IV bag with a long tube to Emma’s arm and replaced the tourniquet he’d taken off briefly. “Too tight?”
“It’s okay.” It hurt, but she wasn’t going to complain. Not when all the people behind the different curtains were in much worse shape.
He placed a ball in her hand and told her to squeeze.
Slowly . . . like a snail moving down a path, her blood started to fill the tube.
Bob moved her arm, pulled at the IV a little.
“Yeah, it’s how I thought.” He sighed.
“What?”
“Normally your blood will just flow into the bag. But your blood is too viscous and won’t.” He removed a large syringe from his cart and attached it to a valve in the tube and started to pull. “I need to draw it out.”
Emma could see the muscle in Bob’s arm twitch with effort as he worked to draw the blood out of her veins. And when he did, she felt a fluttering in her vein. Thick blood, fluttering. Emma closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and felt her stomach turn. “I think I’m going to faint.”
“Emma?”
“It’s okay. I’m going to lay you back.”
Her ears started to ring, and voices faded. She felt the chair reclining, and her head sunk to the side.
“Emma?” Gio called at her side.
The blood pressure cuff on her arm started to squeeze.
Beeping next to her ear went off, but the fear of throwing up was too great for Emma to see what was making the noise.
“Someone go get Dr. Salazar,” Bob called out.
“What happened?” Gio asked.
Emma heard everything but felt as if she was in a cloud. Someone pulled off her cotton mask and placed an oxygen one over her face.
“What’s going on?” a new voice asked.
“This is her first treatment. I had to start pulling, got the first fifty cc’s out and she said she was going to pass out. Blood pressure sixty over thirty.”
“Stop the phlebotomy and give her a half liter of normal saline. Miss Rutledge? I’m Dr. Salazar. Are you coming back to us?”
Emma opened her eyes . . . slowly and nodded. But damn, she felt like crap.
“You’re okay. You had a vagal reaction. Very common. Your blood pressure is already coming back up. Do you have any pain?”
“No. I-I just thought I was going to pass out and throw up.”
“Are you still nauseated?”
“It’s better now.”
“Did you eat today?”
“Yes, she did,” Gio answered.
“We’ll give you some fluids, let this pass, and if you’re up for it, start again.” The doctor patted Emma’s arm, turned to the nurse.
Gio, who had backed away, moved to her side and grabbed her hand.
“Take some deep breaths,” Bob told her.
The wave of crazy started to pass.
Emma smiled at Gio.
“Better, amore?”
She swallowed. “I feel stupid. It’s just blood.”
“Shh, enough of that.” He brushed her hair back.
Emma turned her head to the nurse.
“That was a pretty good impression of Casper the ghost,” Bob told her.
Emma looked at Gio. “Did I turn white?”
“As a sheet.”
The blood pressure bag inflated again.
“Much better. I think we can take this off now.” Bob removed the oxygen.
While fluid went in instead of out, Gio talked to her softly.
Twenty minutes later, Bob started pulling blood again.
This time Emma stayed lying down.
When Bob was done, he said, “I’m going to give you another half a liter of fluids and then you can go. You have an appointment for next week on Thursday.”
“Yes. I’ll try not to faint next time.”
“I’m going to make you lie down and give you some orange juice before we start next time.”
Emma agreed with that suggestion.
Thirty minutes later, they were ready to walk out the door.
“Lots of fluids, no alcohol, and rest. I’ll see you next week,” Bob told her.
“What about gelato?” Gio asked.
“Only if you bring back some for me.”
Gio applauded himself on keeping his shit together.
But damn, when Emma went down, he’d almost lost it.
They’d come home and Emma had threatened to go back out to the winery and continue the work they’d started over the weekend.
Gio put his foot down. “The hell you will.”
He made her take up residency on the couch and brought her lunch and a bowl of ice cream. Was that absolutely necessary? No. Was that exactly what Gio needed her to do to feel like he had some control over what was going on? Yes.
They both concluded that the stress of everything just hit her at the same moment and her body needed a reset.