The Fellowship

"Great!" Rosie cautiously inquired, "So you bringing anyone, my friend?"

Danni wiggled her nose and looked shyly to the floor, "You mean as a date? No…" her head shook slightly from side to side. "But I did ask Garrett, I mean, Dr. Trivoli. I thought it would be nice for her to get to know us outside of the E.R. and have a little fun. She is new in town and all."

Rosie made a face and moaned. "Isn’t it enough that we have to put up with her at work?" She eyed Danni. "Well at least she won’t be on my team for the softball game."

Karen looked at the young blonde nurse, "Add one ‘amazon’ to that list of strays." and shook her head slowly, smiling like a proud mother.

Danni blushed at the attention. Then, as if to change the subject, her eyes narrowed and she nudged the charge nurse saying, "Rosie and I should be furious with you. You played us both by not telling us about Garrett before we acted like idiots."

Startled, Rosie vigorously agreed, "Yeah, why didn’t you warn us?"

Mom just chuckled. "You know, some lessons are better learned by experience than by being told. Besides, I couldn’t help but enjoy the faces that you two were giving back and forth. It was worth every minute."

"Yeah, well, thanks a lot for letting me make a smelly fool of myself."

"Gee, I wonder how Trivoli saw it?" Karen mused. "Guess I’ll have to ask her when I see her on Saturday. She is coming with you isn’t she?"

Danni realized that they had not finished making plans before the last trauma patient arrived. "Ah…I think so. I’ll have to check with her before I leave."

The charge nurse pushed the phone in her direction, "No time like the present, the shift is just about over."

The small blonde glanced at the nightly on-call schedule that hung on the counter. Finding the notation "Trauma Fellow," Danni reached for the phone and punched in the appropriate numeric sequence to reach the paging operator. She waited for the computer generated recording and slowly punched in 1048, Garrett’s personal pager, committing it to her memory. She hung up the phone, turned to the older nurse and smiled sweetly. "Satisfied, Mom?"

"You bet!" Mom reached over and fluffed the young blonde’s short hair with a gentle touch, watching as Danni became flushed with embarrassment.

"That’s my girl."

The phone rang a minute or two later causing all three of the nurses to just stare at it for a moment. Danni answered it with as much professionalism as she could muster. "E.R., Nurse Bossard speaking, may I help you?" Rosie’s eyes bugged out and she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the escaping laughter. Danni, shot a cold eye toward Rosie as a warning, trying hard to keep a straight face.

The voice on the other end was hesitant but strong; "This is Dr. Trivoli. Danni…is that you?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to confirm our plans for the picnic on Saturday before I left for home."

"I’ll be done here in a few minutes. How about we talk over breakfast in the cafeteria?"

"I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m off shift. I’m a little hungry anyway."

"O.K. You can help me learn what’s edible and what’s not. See you soon."

It was a small exchange, but a friendly one. Danni replaced the receiver back into its cradle as a warm feeling ran through her very soul.

Garrett was at the nurses’ desk watching the group making its rounds as she answered her page. She was surprised to hear the talkative nurse on the other end of the phone. The surgeon made eye contact with McMurray as she spoke into the receiver, setting up the breakfast meeting with the nurse. Her voice was pleasant and her speech was articulate for being up all night. She was surprising even herself now. It was a long time since her last night on call during her residency. The Navy in some ways had almost been too easy for her.

With the conversation over, she replaced the receiver to its cradle and returned to the rear of the group doing the rounding.

"Was that a date you were confirming on my time, Dr. Trivoli?" The voice was directly behind her as she turned to reference her inquisitor.

"Dr. McMurray, sir," she had to stop herself from saluting. "I was just doing what you told me to."

He looked at her with intense brown eyes. "I take it, then, it has something to do with the E.R. nursing staff?"

Garrett nodded, "Yes, I’ve been invited to attend the picnic this Saturday. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?"

"Hmmm! Seems you can do two jobs at one time. There may be hope for you after all." He turned to leave, then paused saying, "Just remember what job you’re trying to accomplish. Oh, and Trivoli, get yourself a cell phone if you intend on living in a hotel. I don’t like talking to desk clerks." With that he was off and on his way down the hall.

Her face remained a picture of stoicism. The surgeon could not believe that she was in that direct line of shit rolling down hill again. What was she, the poster child for ‘I need a friend’ or was she just not used to this manner of teaching? ‘Only 364 more days to go.’ She sighed and caught up with the group rounding on the last few patients admitted during the night.

***********

The hallway outside of the cafeteria was busy with the traffic of staff and visitor alike. It was a mutual meeting ground where succulence for the body was available without being too pricey. The atmosphere was an attempt at being cheerful but also business-like at the same time. The line for the hot food was already forming at the door when Danni reached the banking machine in the hall. ‘A quick stop for some money and I’ll be good for the weekend.’ She looked around for the tall familiar form of the surgeon. ‘Guess I’m here first.’ The young nurse stepped up to the machine and submitted her card, punching in a few numbers and patiently waited for the crisp bills to be discharged into her possession. She withdrew her card and quickly counted the new bills.

"Oh, there you are," Garrett said. "I thought I may have missed you."

She had just gotten off the elevator and was walking across the hall, hoping that she had.

"I needed to get some money for the weekend, you know, with the holiday and all." Danni stuffed the money into her lab jacket pocket. "So, hot or cold?"

The raven-haired woman looked at her perplexed, thinking about the nerve of McMurray to want her to become friends with this non-stop talking machine. "Huh…oh, I don’t know what’s the best choice?"

"Well, if you are really hungry, hot is always the best." Danni motioned toward the line that started at the door. It was long but she knew that it would moved quickly.

They stood in line, in silence. Garrett thought about the events of the night, letting her mind slowly wind down to the more relaxed atmosphere. Her first night here in a new hospital, not to mention new city, was over and all in all she was feeling pretty good about it. It just might be what she had needed all along and for the first time in a number of years, she felt good about her life and the direction it was taking. What she had worked for all those long lonely years was finally coming to be a realization of her dream, even if she had to do it under McMurray.

Within a few minutes the line had slowly moved to where the available food was displayed behind the glass shields. Steam was coming off of the counter as empty pans were exchanged for freshly made full ones. The aromas mingled together so that no selection could be singled out to tempt the taste buds. The food smelled similar but yet different than Garrett had been used to in the Navy. Danni picked up a tray and some utensils handing them to Garrett, then repeating the procedure for herself.

"Thanks," an embarrassed grin coming to alight on the surgeon’s face and quickly turning into a scowl. "Any suggestions?"

Danni surveyed the selection of hot foods and coming to a decision stated, "Your best bet for flavor is to stay away from the scrambled eggs. The French toast or pancakes are always tasty. The sausage patties are better than the bacon."

Garrett was amazed; the small woman was filling her plate as she commented on the food with the expertise of a food critic. This young woman was definitely more than she appeared. The surgeon was finding this new acquaintance to be quite intriguing if not entertaining. She had never met anyone like this in her life. She followed the young nurse cautiously choosing the French Toast and several patties of sausage from the hot food line. The girl now walked over to the chilled food buffet area and began commentary on the different offerings of seasonal fruit. The surgeon listened intently and watched with awe as Danni placed several choices on her tray. Not being one to enjoy fruit, Garrett just followed along. Next the nurse turned and walked over to the beverage area. "Coffee or Tea?"

"Ah, Tea will be fine."

"I like the herbal teas the best," the young nurse picked up several packets of different teas and shuffled through them rather quickly finally deciding upon a lemon flavored one. Then offered the remainder to the taller woman. "They are all quite good, it just depends on your mood."

The surgeon choose a cinnamon flavored tea and poured hot water into her cup. The nurse slowly walked over to the pastry area and with eyes as big as saucers, considered which one would end her breakfast appropriately. Having acquired her necessary quantity of food she waited patiently for the surgeon to make her choice. The surgeon placed a small nut filled roll on her plate and turned to see the petite nurse carrying what appeared to be enough food to feed a small army. Garrett shook her head and considered her own tray of food. It was nothing compared to the nurse’s. ‘Where does she put it all? She can’t possibly eat that entire tray of food.’

They passed through to the cashier line and were looking for a quiet place to eat and share some conversation. They soon found a small table at the rear of the main dining room and made themselves comfortable. The young blonde systematically ate starting with the hot dishes, pressing onto the chilled fruit choices and lastly the sweet roll which was filled with fruit and dripping with icing. The entire time Garrett just watched. The blonde was still talking about the culinary efforts of the kitchen staff and the numerous selections to definitely choose and those to absolutely bypass. The surgeon was sipping her tea and finishing the last few bites of nut roll when Danni finally swallowed her last mouthful.

"Well, what do you think?"

Garrett looked blankly at the small nurse, ‘Where did she put it all? I can’t believe that she ate every morsel of food.’ "Ah…about what?"

"About Saturday, you know, the picnic." Danni was looking intently across the table at the surgeon. "You are going to come? It will be fun to get to know some of the E.R. staff, that way they’ll get to know you too."

"I said that I would come." Her tone had an air of misgiving in it, then as if to cover it up she added. "It will give me something to do."

"So, what time and where do you want me to pick you up?"

"What time do you want to go? I mean, after all, you’re the one driving. Mind you now, I do still have to make rounds on my patients."

Danni thought for a moment and offered, "How about 11:30, that way we can be there before the start of the softball game."

"O.K., you can pick me up here at the hospital, outside the front door at 1130 hours sharp." Her voice was good at giving out orders, especially with military time involved. "That way, I will be able to check in on my patients."

"That sounds good to me. Do you play softball?"

"Well, I played in college. Why?"

"It’s just that we have this annual game between the doctors and the E.R. staff every year and I thought that maybe you might enjoy playing."

Garrett raised an eyebrow slightly saying, "It’s been a long time since I played on a team. I’m afraid I’d be a little rusty."

"That’s alright. It’s strictly for fun and nothing else." Danni tilted her head to the side and squinted. "We do use it to gloat for the rest of the year. Well, that is if we win."

The two women chuckled softly as friends often do when sharing good times. This was definitely a different feeling from the many shared breakfasts onboard ship for the surgeon. There, friendship was just telling each other about loved ones and that most definitely left Garrett out of the picture. She could not share because she had none. No, all she had to share was pain, suffering, and yes, guilt. Not what anyone would willingly want to share or even listen to. This is why Garrett was so used to her own forced solitude. But this nurse somehow was getting past all of her defenses. Slowly she was worming her way into that lonely world of isolation that Garrett had known for the last nineteen years. A world made up of nothing but her intense focus on caring for the traumatized patient who was entrusted into her care. There, she made little time for herself so as not to allow the torture of her past to haunt her day to day life.

The young blonde watched the surgeon as she became distanced in thought. Her heart ached in the worst way to reach out and comfort her newfound friend. It was always so hard to judge what response would kindle the growth of a relationship and which would send it dashing hopelessly to the realms of seclusion. Deciding that it was too soon for Garrett to let her get close, Danni thought that it was best for her to take her leave.

"I’ve had a good time. Perhaps we can do this again." She was sincere and rose from her seat.

"Yeah, I think I’d like that. Well, if it fits in with my schedule." She caught herself before it could go any further. "Front door of the hospital at 1130 sharp on Saturday. I’ll be ready." Garrett confirmed the arrangements. "Should I bring anything?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything." Danni let her hand rest on Garrett’s shoulder then leaned in towards her ear, "It’s been a real pleasure to make your acquaintance, Garrett. I’ll see you on Saturday."

"Ah…Danni, it’s Dr. Trivoli, please. At least inside the hospital."

The young woman’s eyes bugged out for a brief second at the recognition of the condescending tone that had just been used toward her. ‘Now that hurt! I can’t believe after all that I’ve tried to help…’ "Alright then, see you on Saturday, Doctor Trivoli," she drew out the title. Danni nodded in agreement and walked away from the table.

"Thanks for the company and the invitation." She gave the nurse a lopsided grin and admitted, "I’m actually looking forward to this outing." She called out to the retreating figure. ‘Anything that will get McMurray off my back.’

Garrett watched as the petite form withdrew. The chipper nurse now seemed upset with something or other. The surgeon shrugged and began to leave the table with her tray in hand. What had changed in just a minute or two? ‘Nurses, who could understand them?’ She quickly and analytically ran over the last few verbal exchanges between them and tried to find a reason. A little voice deep inside of her kept saying ‘you know why she changed.’ Then she admonished herself by reasoning out that nurses were used to calling physicians "Doctor" all the time. After all, it was a sign of respect. The scientific mind of the surgeon tried using logic to come to an answer. Her mind ran down a list of things that were logical of a nurse. ‘They were craving to give aid and comfort to those in need, working long hours and taking verbal abuse from those who were in their care. Basically it all boils down to the ability to care deeply and feel the pain…’ Garrett halted her forward motion abruptly. ‘Nah, she wouldn’t be upset with that, would she?’ Her eyes darted from one face to another as she watched the people around her, carefully sorting out those of the nursing staff. There was one over there who was laughing at something that had just been said. Then off to the side was another with a look of concern, her arm now encompassed the woman next to her. Wherever she looked, the surgeon saw the emotions of human frailty and strengths etched into the beings of the nurses.

The more she looked into the nameless faces, her words came racing back through her mind. ‘It’s Dr. Trivoli, to you.’ Garrett exhaled out of her mouth, cursing at the same time. ‘What that must have sounded like to that congenial nurse?’ "It must have felt like a slap in the face." Feeling the need to say something, anything, to the nurse to try to soften the blow the surgeon searched the crowded dinning room for Danni. Unable to find her, the depressed woman allowed her shoulders to gently slump in defeat.

Danni had made her way hastily away from the source of her hurt placing her tray on the conveyor belt area, she turned to look back at the table with the raven-haired surgeon. There was so much she could see that was hiding just under the surface of this woman and it made her want to cry. She would have to find a way to break through that tough exterior. ‘There is an alive and viable person, a real person locked up deep inside. I know that there is.’ With that thought, the young nurse mustered up a weak smile focusing on the positive as always. Somehow the night had turned out to be good and breakfast wasn’t that bad either. The nurse sighed, letting a smile slowly come across her face. ‘Yep, adding one ‘amazon’ to that menagerie of mine.’