The Fellowship

Chapter 8

The weather was beginning to cool down and the first samplings of the autumn colors were settling on the trees. ‘Thank the gods for the new school year.’ The young nurse thought to herself as she put her key into the lock on the door. She was finding it difficult to relax when she came home from work with the sounds of the excited children playing outside all summer. It often brought back all of the childhood memories that she cared to muster. Her mind would think back on them but something was always missing, like she was never really a part of the activity around her but rather a spectator in the game of life. It had made her feel uneasy, even unsettled in her life just like she was now. ‘There’s got to be something more to life. Some other kind of…’ she searched for the right word, ‘fulfillment. Yeah, that’s it!’ She shrugged her shoulders dejectedly, ‘Maybe someday….’ The noise of the neighborhood children could only be heard now in the late afternoons and on the weekends. It had not been keeping her from sleeping since every night seemed to drain her energy with the multitude of traumas that were coming into the E.R. There were seasons to everything including trauma. Danni had been around long enough to know that each of the weather seasons brought on a rise in a particular kind of traumatic mishap that would befall her patients. The autumn of the year brought scholastic sports injuries with it as well as the falls from trees as people were preparing for the colder winter months ahead.

She pushed open the door and made her way into the comfortable looking living area. Her tired green eyes scanned the room until they detected the out of place duffel bag next to the coffee table. A grin came to her face as she thought about the owner of the bag and what a pleasant impact she was making on the life of the young nurse. It had been years since Danni had a roommate. She had several roommates back in her college days and none ever seemed to work out. In fact, it was those horrible experiences that had made her promise herself never to be put into those circumstances again. She shook her head in amazement at her situation now. Who would have thought that two people as different as night and day could actually be so comfortable around each other. It was as though they had known each other for as long as they had been alive or even longer. The petite blonde shivered as a chill ran down her spine at the thought. ‘I guess I just had to find the right roommate,’ she reflected. ‘Too bad I’ll probably lose her after next June. She’ll have a ton of offers from the really big hospitals across the country with her talents.’ And at that thought a melancholy mood came over her.

Danni shook her head in an effort to rid herself of the thought. "Take each day as it comes and don’t worry about the next until it is here," she whispered as if saying a prayer. Then, she mentally chastised herself for her thoughts. She knew that her time with the tall, dark surgeon was limited. She had no reason to stay here, no ties that could hold her here. ‘I just wish…she could see how much better I…ah…we are for her.’ Danni remembered the numerous times that she had been left behind as someone’s choice, never really finding that true allegiance of spirit in her youth. It seemed like it just followed her no matter what she did or where she went. There was always something that made her feel isolated at times. The E.R. was the first real place that she ever felt she belonged, well, except for her Grandfather and her days spent at his cabin. He never looked at her as different or lacking, but rather with the acceptance of an unconditional love that she had grown to cherish.

She wondered if the surgeon had changed on-call nights and forgotten her familiar duffel bag this morning. She looked over at the desk for a note but found none. "Well, only one way to find out. I’ll just page her," the nurse assured herself as she placed the phone call to the paging operator at the hospital. She stole a quick glance at her watch. It was 0830. Her mind tried to remember Garrett’s schedule but she found it next to impossible with her lack of sleep.

"Dr. Trivoli here." The voice was strong and clear.

Startled from her thoughts, Danni spoke hesitantly. "Ah, this is Danni."

The surgeon’s voice now softened in tone, "Hey, how did your night go?"

"It was busy as usual, traumas don’t wait for you when you’re not on-call," she said with a laugh. "Thanks for asking any ways."

"I walked right into that one, didn’t I? Sorry to hear it was so busy."

"Don’t worry. I’ll survive. Just think after I sleep today, I get to come in and do it all over again tonight."

"Yeah, but this time you will have a real good time. I promise."

The nurse looked surprised, "…and just why is that?"

"Well, ‘cause, I’ll be on-call tonight instead of Rene."

"Oh, did something come up?"

"No, more like something coming out," the surgeon teased. "Renee’s wife is in labor. It’s their first child, so it could take a while. He called me at 5 this morning," she laughed. "Right after he called the Obstetrician."

"Oh, so that explains the duffel bag in the living room."

Her voice reflected the blank expression on her face. "I guess I was so excited for Renee and his wife that I forgot it."

"Don’t worry, I’ll bring it with me when I come to work this evening."

"Thanks, Danni. I appreciate that and so will everyone around me tonight. It has all my toiletries and change of clothes. Boy, I guess I’d be in a real bind if I didn’t have a roommate, huh?"

"Well, consider it part of the roommate code. Rule # 7, I think."

"And that would be…?"

"Never let your roommate go without clean clothes and toiletries for an overnight outing." The petite woman was finding it hard to keep from laughing.

"One of the days, you are going to have to show me these codes that you quote, okay? I don’t believe I ever received my copy of them."

Jokingly the blonde woman stated, "You have to be a roommate for a while before they give them out." She could hear the beeping coming through the phone. "Is that you?"

Garrett looked down at the annoying sound to see the number flashing across the pager. "Yeah, I’ve got to answer this. I’ll see you later tonight and thanks for bringing that in for me. Now go and get some sleep."

"I’ll page you when I get in. Bye!"

"See you later." She hung up the phone pausing for a moment as she considered how lucky she was.

The brisk episodes of wind seemed to make the outside world alive with the ever-floating leaves in the air. It brought to mind the small snow globe that she had received as a child on a long forgotten day. She was amazed at how obscure that gift and the circumstances surrounding it had come to her mind. Continuing to gaze out of the window, her mind replayed the events. The cherished thoughts made her feel warm and conjured up a feeling of love.

Her parents had given the globe to her. It was their way of explaining the bond that was to fill her life. The two snowmen inside of the globe stood side by side, one slightly larger than the other. They had told her about an unseen bond between the two figures. Her father shook the globe vigorously and held it out for her to see. Her mother knelt down behind her to wrap her arms around the young girl. Pointing to the snowstorm of activity inside the globe she commented that the two snowmen were held together in their strength for each other and that nothing could separate the bond they shared, not even the cold, harsh winds of the snowstorm. At times it was hard to see the figures but then, the snow would die down and there the two were, standing side by side, as if nothing had ever happened. The small child wondered which snowman she was. It was then that her father pointed to the larger of the two saying, "This one is you." The girl looked up to her mother for confirmation of the choice. She was hugged gently as her mother whispered, "You are the older and bigger one, my love." A puzzled look appeared on the youngster’s face as she looked from parent to parent. Seeing this, her father winked at her mother and motioned his head to the other room. Her mother stood and left the room only to return a moment later carrying something in her arms. Her face was radiant as she looked at her daughter and husband. She sat down on the sofa, cooing gently into the blanket that was in her arms. Hand in hand the young girl and her father crossed the room to her mother. Together, they invited her to meet her new baby brother. She could still remember the exact words as though it was yesterday. "This is your brother, Lucas. He will need you to look out for him and help him when the storms come. Do you think you can do that?"

The young girl’s eyes grew to the size of saucers at the sight of her new brother. She nodded her head and asked. "He’ll be with me always…forever and forever?" "Yes he will," was their simultaneous reply.

"Hey, Doc! You want in on the baby pool?"

The tall woman’s concentration being broken, she turned from the window in the trauma vestibule to see John, the E.R. nurse, standing with a long sheet of computer paper in his hands. "I take it this is for Dr. Chabot’s baby?"

"Yep!" The smile was big across his face. "We’re splitting it 50/50 with the baby. Only two bucks, Doc, I just need you to guess a time and sex." His eyebrows seemed to vibrate as he said the last word.

Garrett chuckled as she thought of the stories she had heard of the young male from the other nurses and Danni. She was amused that even with the pending birth, this guy would find an angle to talk about sex. "Yeah, let me in on the pool." The ends of her mouth curled upward as she considered what time the baby would arrive. "Hmmm! It’s 1845 now and they are still in labor," she mused. Her face twisted with thought, "Let’s say 2115."

"Sex?" The word was said with more of an implication then a question. The look of anticipation at the duel meaning and purpose of the question was written all over the man’s face. John waited for her answer to be a slip in a moment of Freudian thought. His mind was racing with thoughts of bedding the beautiful surgeon. The long limbs of her naked body wrapped around him, the tenuous moment of copulation moving her over the edge into a world of….

"Girl!" The answer was crisp and clear. Her eyebrow arching up under her dark bangs.

His dreams had come to a grinding halt. "What?" He snapped back.

"I said, Girl at 2115. That’s my guess for the birth of the Chabot baby." She smiled sexily, fully aware of the agony that she was putting the nurse through. Digging into her lab coat she produced two dollar bills. "Here!" She shoved them into his hand just letting her touch linger long enough to add to his sense of lost dreams. "I’ll trust you to mark me down." With that she winked and moved away.

John stood there in a dazed state of mind. He quickly ran through the conversation in his head. Where had he gone wrong? It had worked several times earlier today. Why not now? He shook his head. ‘Oh well, the chase is half the fun anyway,’ he thought as he turned to look for his next body of conquest.

Exchanging her street clothes for a set of trauma scrubs, Danni found herself listening to the buzz of activity coming from the other occupants of the locker room. There was definitely an aura of excitement in the staff today. She shoved her purse into her locker and closed the door. Making several tugs here and there, she straightened her hospital-issued clothing. Just as she was about to leave, the locker room door swung open by a very upset Manager.

Nan looked as though steam was ready to come out of her ears as she scanned the occupants of the nursing staff locker room. The professional image that she always tried to project was on the edge of a losing battle. "All right, has anybody seen John?" Her voice was full of intensity. "I swear, if I get my hands on that little snake, he’ll wish he was somewhere else." Then she sighed loudly, crossing her arms in front of her chest, her right foot tapping nervously on the tile floor. "If any ones sees him, tell him to report to me immediately." She turned and stormed back through the doorway. ‘See if he makes a mockery out of that child’s birth just to have a reason to solicit sex from unsuspecting staff members. They’re going to think that we’re all like that down here in the E.R. They already associate us with the seedier side of life anyway.’

The small nurse had never seen her manager so upset. She turned to look into the faces of the staff around her. Shrugging her shoulders she asked, "What’s up with John?"

The brown-haired young aide let out a long whistle. "Glad I’m not him."

Danni looked over at Marianna, "I don’t ever think that I’ve seen Nan this upset. What happened on daylight shift?"

The tall blonde nurse seated on the bench in front of the lockers finished tying her shoestring and offered, "I heard it was something to do with a doctor’s wife," Lori said shyly.

Everyone’s eyes riveted to the girl showing her naivete as she blushed at what she had said.

"Lori, are you sure?" Danni asked, trying to stop any wild and unfound rumors.

"Well, I think that’s what I overheard," she stated insecurely.

"I don’t see what all the fuss is about," Marianna shrugged her shoulders. "It’s not like he keeps his steamy little affairs underwraps. Sooner or later he’s bound to end up in hot water."

"Well, just remember that he is a nurse and part of our department." Danni let her gaze advance slowly from one person to the next. "You know how rumors get blown out of proportion in a place like this. Next thing you know someone will be saying that he is sleeping with me."

Everyone chuckled at the thought of Danni sleeping with John. They all knew of her complete aversion to the male nurse.

"Nah, that was last week’s rumor." Rosie stood at the doorway a large smile on her face as she watched the petite blonde’s mouth drop open. Then with a serious look, she deadpanned, "Is it really true that you made it a threesome when Garrett came home?"

The riotous sound of laughter could be heard out into the hallway. The atmosphere was now one of mirth and camaraderie. It was a running joke with the E.R. staff. They all knew how hard John was trying to get any action out of the roommates, always resulting in a brush off or a flat refusal to acknowledge his suggestions.

"Yeah, and you are the one that probably started it," Danni shook her head with a wry smile. The small nurse made her way over to the tall, auburn- haired woman. "Hey, how was vacation? It’s nice to have you back."

Rosie rolled her eyes, "Too short! That’s how vacation was." She noticed her watch and gasped, "Geez, look at the time. We better get out into the department before Nan wants our heads too." She motioned toward the door, "I’ll tell you later."

Standing in front of the assignment board, the petite nurse slowly looked over the list of names that would staff the E.R. tonight. It was nice to have Rosie back on shift again she thought, the regulars always worked better together. Next she studied the list of Doctors that would be with her, Jamie for the E.R. Attending and Garrett for Trauma Fellow. Tonight was stacked in their favor. No matter what could be thrown in their direction, Danni felt comfortable that this staff was the best the hospital had to offer. A smile came slowly to her as she looked over the assignment that was hers, Trauma Nurse. She liked being in that position, especially if the Fellow was Garrett. There was just something about the two of them working together that always brought a good feeling with it. It always seemed like the patients had a better than average chance to survive when the two worked jointly. The young nurse made a mental note to check into that notion. Just what was their survival rate, she wondered?

Danni thought back over her days as a young graduate nurse when all things were new and wonderful. She stood in awe of the things that had changed or improved over the course of time to now, when she was a well-seasoned and established veteran of the nursing profession. She had made her mark with most of the doctors who passed through this E.R. Rarely did she find one that bulked at her better judgement, at least where compassion was involved. She never tried to tell a physician their job, but she was not above trying to dissuade them out of a wrong or hurtful encounter with either a patient or the family members. If ever there was an advocate for the patient, it was she.

"Phssst! Danni!"

Her concentration broken, the petite nurse looked around for the source of the hushed beckoning.

"Hey! Danni, over here." The muffled voice called out.

She turned abruptly to see the door to the supply room ajar with someone peering out of the opening. Trying to get a better look at the concealed features, she moved closer to the doorway. Pausing, she looked around the hallway before entering the room. Once inside, the door was promptly closed revealing the tall blonde-haired nurse. Nervously he looked out of the small window built into the door. Seeing no one approaching, John let a sigh escape, trying to calm himself.

The young nurse was weighing in her own mind about how wise of an idea it was to be in the small supply room with John. "You know that Nan is looking for you," she stated. "Don’t you?" She kept her distance from the man, relieved that the room was on a well-traveled hallway and that the door had an unshaded window in it that brought her into view of anyone outside of it.

"Yeah, I got that impression." He paused to look out of the window again. "I just wanted to give you report."

"Is there a reason for being in this supply closet, other than you trying to avoid Nan?" ‘Don’t even think of trying anything, mister. I may be small, but I can be tough when I have too.’

The man swallowed hard shaking his head. Stammering he started, "There’s… There’s nothing going on in Trauma right now. Hasn’t been all day in fact." He handed over the beeper to his relief. "That’s why I was asking everyone if they would like to get in on making the baby pool."

"Making the baby pool?" She looked at him with raised eyebrows, her arms protectively crossing over her chest. She was leery of any thing having to do in any way with sex where this man was involved. ‘Jeez! I knew it!’

"Come on, Danni, join in on the fun." He smiled sweetly, "I’ve already got Garrett pencilled in for nine fifteen…" leaning in towards the smaller nurse he confided, "…and she’s hoping for a girl."

The young woman’s mind was thrown into a quandary. Images of her tall dark-haired friend in the arms of this man raced through her head. ‘No, Garrett would never. She hates his sexist attitude as much as I do. There has to be something that I’m missing.’ She let her eyes stare directly into his, hoping for some sign to disprove what he had implied. Her mind raced with a little green-eyed monster darting recklessly around it. ‘Why would she choose him? She could have anyone. She could even have…’ then her thoughts were interrupted.

"You know, I realize that you two are close, so why don’t I just put you down for nine fifteen also. I figure, being a doctor that she will probably have the best time." He winked at the blonde woman; "You’re roommates. I know that you’re okay with sharing. I guess you’ll want a boy, that way all your bases will be covered." His look was one of hopefulness.

Stunned, Danni blurted out, "I can’t believe Garrett," she reiterated, "Garrett Trivoli is going along with this."

"Sure, why not? It’s a 50/50 deal. Everybody can walk away happy." He smiled at her. "It makes you feel good, it makes a deposit towards the baby bank, and me," his smile broadened. "I just walk away feeling damn good about the whole thing for doing my part."

She was appalled at the ease with which this man talked about the intimate acts that he was suggesting to her. ‘He acts as if it’s nothing to bring a life into the world. This is disgusting, and he wants me to do it with him and Garrett at the same time. He has finally crossed over that imaginary line of good taste and not to mention the code of roommates.’ Her eyes darted from him to the door and back again. She had all she was going to take. Danni stepped in the direction of the door, reaching for the handle.

Before she could grasp the knob, the door flung open. It was Rosie. "Have you seen John?" the well-relaxed nurse asked.

Danni’s eye riveted to the tall male nurse standing off to one side. "He’s in here," she spat out.

"Great! Hey, John, put me down for nine twenty-eight and it better be a boy." The auburn-haired nurse held out her hand with two crisp dollar bills in it. "I can’t believe that I made it back in time for the birth of Rene’s baby." The bubbly nurse looked at her friend, "So, what time did you guess the baby’s delivery would be?"

The young blonde nurse stood looking from Rosie to John and back again. Her mouth opened several times trying to form words but couldn’t. Suddenly it hit her. She thought about the phone conversation with Garrett earlier that morning and remembered the duffel bag in her locker. ‘Jeez, he’s been talking about Rene’s baby. That’s what the baby pool is about.’ She mentally chastised herself. Nervously she gulped and reached into the back pocket of her scrub pants. Retrieving her money, she meekly held out two-rumpled dollar bills to John. Smiling weakly and scrunching up her nose she said, "Put me down for that roommate thing. Okay?"

John took the money, "Sure!" He noticed the puzzled look on Rosie’s face and shrugged his shoulders as the embarrassed nurse slinked out of the room.

Karen sat at the desk studying the computer screen that listed the patient assignments. She marveled at how good it felt to have all of her girls together again. It was like having the pieces of a puzzle all in the right spots. The charge nurse had acted like a second mother for both Danni and Rosie for so long that she felt the symptoms of the "empty nest" syndrome when either of them was on vacation. She smiled at the concept of enlarging her family with the addition of the strong and brilliant surgeon, Garrett Trivoli. The doctor that had started out as Danni’s "Amazon" very easily became just one of the daughters in the older nurses’ extended family. There was something about the interaction between the young nurse and the trauma surgeon that complemented the other. It was going to be a fine night with all of her girls here together, the older woman thought. Resigning herself to the fact that there was business to attend to, she sighed and willed her mind back to the task of running the emergency room.

"Well, Mom, did you miss me?" Rosie stood peering over the desk at the older nurse.

Putting her hand on her hip, Karen cocked her head to a side and gave the nurse an uninterested look. "I can’t say that I did. You went somewhere?"

Rosie was thrown by what the older nurse said. Her mouth dropped open as she stood there. Looking over the desk at Karen, she studied the facial expression. Suddenly the tight-lipped nurse broke into laughter. It was truly a work of art the way she was able to tease and elicit the young nurse into believing that she was not missed.

"You did miss me," the nurse proclaimed. "Mom, you really know how to hurt a nurse, now don’t you?"

"Miss you, Rosie, she was counting the days until you got back. She said that it was too quiet with you gone." Dr. Potter said as she came up behind Karen. "Now, enough of this joking around." The red-haired physician was teasing both of the nurses. She winked at Rosie as she tapped the charge nurse on the shoulder.

"Hey, did I miss something?" Danni seated herself in a chair and slid it over to the desk.

"Nothing special, Dan, just these two being their normal selves," as Jamie pushed her glasses up on her nose and tossed her head in the direction of the other nurses at the desk. "Hey, has anyone heard how the delivery is going for Rene and his wife?"

Rosie looked down at her watch; it was almost 8 o’clock in the evening. "Yeah, how is that baby coming? I hope it waits for my time."

Everyone at the desk began to chuckle. Danni reached over picking up the phone and punching in a sequence of numbers. "Maybe Dr. Trivoli will know. I’ll ask her when she calls back," as she settled the phone back into its cradle.

"I’m glad that Garrett is covering for Rene tonight. I like it when she is on my shift. It makes the traumas more bearable." The E.R. attending physician was confiding in the small group of friends. "She’d be the one that I would want to see working on me if I ever woke up in the trauma room."

An almost inaudible, "Me, too!" was heard coming from each of the nurses as they all stared off into space with the same thought, attesting to the skills of the capable surgeon.

Making the sign of the cross, Rosie offered a small prayer to any god that may be listening. "From our lips to your ears, please don’t let any one of us ever need her skills in such a manner."

"I don’t know, Rosie. I’ve seen your driving." The blonde nurse chuckled as she grabbed for the phone that had begun ringing. "E.R., Danni speaking."

"Hey, Danni. What can I do for you?" The familiar voice on the other end of the receiver asked.

Her eyes smiled at the recognition of the voice. It was Garrett. "Don’t forget that I brought in that duffel bag for you. Any word on the Chabot baby yet?"

"No, nothing yet, but I think that she’s getting close. I’m betting that she has it before the end of your shift."

"Well, thanks for that non-committal update on her condition," the roommate chided.

"Hey, I don’t have the stork listed as one of my office partners." The surgeon cleared her throat; "I’m into saving lives not bringing new ones into the world."

Her gentle laughter sounded good to the nurse’s ear. "Okay, Trauma Fellow Trivoli, I guess you are right. So, when are you going to pick up the duffel that you forgot at home this morning?"

The surgeon sighed. She had forgotten all about the duffel and the request of her roommate to bring it in with her this evening. "I’ll be down in a few minutes for it. Where will I find you?"

"I’m at the front desk right now. If I’m not there, I’ll be in the trauma rooms getting them ready for some action with you later."

"Okay, see you in a bit," the surgeon ended the conversation wondering why she had never allowed herself to have friends before. It was so nice to be able to rely on someone to be there when you needed a hand. She smiled silently to herself feeling an inner peace, one that she had not felt for most of her life.

The night was going to be a long one at the rate that patients trickled into the emergency room for treatment. Most of the injuries were scholastic sports related, the running injuries associated with Soccer, Football, Track and Field events. The ages and genders of the participants varied, as did the degree with which they dealt with the injuries.

The surgeon cast an eye of scrutiny over the waiting room as she made her way to the entrance of the Emergency Department. Satisfied that none of the waiting patients looked to be of a surgical nature, she breathed a sigh of relief as she thanked the gods that she had decided against a career in the practice of orthopedic medicine. One of her professors in medical school had tried to push her in that direction because of her physical stature. It was times like this she was glad that she had been so driven to achieve her goal and not so easily dissuaded.

Opening the door to the department, she noticed the large round clock hanging on the wall. It was 2000 hours and her thoughts drifted off to her colleague Rene and his wife. ‘That baby has got to be a girl," she mused, ‘or at least a procrastinator.’ The tall woman offered a prayer for the safe delivery and good health of the baby and mother as she let her gaze wander over the nurse’s station.

Sauntering up behind Rosie, Garrett lowered her voice and spoke directly into her ear. "What’s the matter? Didn’t you find anyone to latch onto during your vacation?"

The tall nurse’s eyes widened with each word as she tried to imagine who could be so bold as to tease her. She spun in the direction of the voice ready to give a verbal ear beating to the culprit. Seeing Garrett standing there with a lopsided grin, her eyes twinkling mischievously, the nurse gulped and quickly changed her mind. "I should have known it would be you." She accused as she gave the surgeon’s shoulder a tap.