Up in the Air

Chapter 11

Garrett sat deep in thought, her foot resting on the chair across from her. Even though it was now several weeks out from her injury, the ankle gave her pain at times. The act of elevating her foot during the day was now in her subconscious rather than an afterthought. She looked at her ankle as she tested its range of motion, wincing when she'd gone too far. 'Yeah, Trivoli, that pothole got you good.' Her mind drifted slightly to the image of a petite blonde nurse. 'Just like she did.' The surgeon closed her eyes and sighed.

The end of May was fast approaching and here she was with a stack of letters in her hand, all of them with offers of jobs trying to win her skills for their very own purposes. They all seemed to enjoy boasting that they had the best and brightest of the new rising stars on their payroll. It was their plan to entice the surgeon with offers of money, stock options, cars, houses, and even computer dating arrangements to name a few. She had to laugh at that one and wondered just how much they knew about her, probably more than she knew about herself. 'What do I know about myself?'

It was a puzzle that Garrett had been working on for the past month or two. Each time that she thought she had it all figured out, something else would happen to make her reevaluate what she had deliberated. Her life seemed to be constantly up in the air, as did the people that surrounded her. Each one always looking at her as if this great enlightenment should be taking place any minute. Some even more than others, like Danni. How often had she seen that hopeful look in the blonde's eyes? The surgeon's heart went out to her friend but she wasn't quite sure what it was that woman wanted from her. She was trying hard at this friendship but perhaps there was something more, something that she just wasn’t getting.

The dark-haired woman was finding that her responses to some situations were even more up in the air than anything. She often wondered why Danni’s touch sent shock waves through her as if she’d touched a live wire. No one’s touch had ever done anything to her before. Then there was the time the petite nurse had squeezed by her in the doorway to her room and suddenly Garrett had felt a stimulation surging through her body that to this day just thinking about it still took her breath away. These were all feelings that she’d never had before.

It all made Garrett wonder if there wasn’t some plan that was being put in motion without her knowing about it. Fate had brought her here to Pittsburgh, obviously, for some reason. Now, somewhere in her hands was the fate for the rest of her life. She stared down at the handful of letters and wondered how and when the fates would interact with her again.

"Maybe I should cast my fate to the wind. What do you think, Danni?" She mused aloud unaware that the nurse was standing at the bottom of the stairs within earshot.

Danni noticed the letters in Garrett’s hand and her brow furrowed with consternation. She closed her eyes to stave off the tears. She’d looked at the return addresses on the corners of the envelopes as each one had been delivered to the house with Garrett’s name on them and committed them to memory. Most had been from the West Coast, big name facilities, but several were also from the South. Heck, she’d even received a letter from Hawaii. The nurse bit her lip at the thought of Garrett leaving, being so many miles away. The pain was almost unbearable.

‘A little over a month to go and I could lose her forever. I can’t lay my feelings out on the line now, she’s got too much think about as it is. I pushed her into this friendship. I want her to make this decision on her own. If she loves me, she’ll stay, we’ll work something out.’ Danni was still concerned for her friend’s career. How would her peers, patients and the power structure of the hospital that she’d work in treat a gay surgeon? These were all concerns of the nurse’s in regard to her friend. Danni knew how she would treat her, lovingly, tenderly, with kindness and consideration. The nurse would downright cherish the day that the spark of love ignited into the flame of passion between them, if only it would.

Danni pulled herself together before she spoke. The words were soft and reverent in nature. "I’d rather you let your heart rule your fate than the wind."

Garrett sat up, startled by the voice. Turning her head, she could see that same hopeful look on Danni’s face that had been haunting her for sometime now. "I…I didn’t know that you were up yet."

"I’m sorry, Gar, but I thought you were asking me a question. I didn’t mean to disturb you."

The blonde crossed the room toward the kitchen. The entire time blue eyes were on her, watching each step and savoring it. The surgeon could feel her own pulse quicken when she focused in on the gentle swaying movement of the nurse’s anatomy from side to side with each stride. Garrett closed her eyes as Danni turned the corner into the other room. ‘Was that lawyer right? Gosh, what would Danni say if she knew I was looking at her like that?’

The surgeon hung her head in disbelief. ‘Face it, Trivoli, you’re gay. You always thought that you might be. Hell, you even tried having sex with women when you were in college.’ She breathed in a cleansing breath and opened her eyes. ‘Now what do you do?’

She ran her hand through her hair as her mind brought forth scenarios of Danni interacting with the surgeon, one of denial, one of rejection, one of acceptance and one of avoiding the issue all together. The surgeon looked back down to the handful of job offers. The thought of what being involved in a gay relationship might mean to the nurse with her career and family came running through her mind until it smacked her in the face. ‘Then again, I could always just run.’

The sound of the beeper put an end to the thoughts as Garrett reached for her pager. The message scrolled across the screen, "Call command immediately." And she did.

Coming into the kitchen, Garrett looked sheepishly at the blonde woman as she was coming away from the refrigerator. "Danni, we’ll be driving in separately this morning."

"Huh?" The confusion was evident on her face. "W…why?"

"That was the Command Desk calling for Dr. McMurray. Seems like he has plans for me today. I’m not sure of what it’s all about but he wanted to make sure that you had a way home tonight."

"You don’t think something happened to Nathan or Rene do you?" Danni’s heart was quick to show its concern.

"They didn’t say." Garrett bit at her lip, "I hope not. They just told me to report to McMurray’s office as soon as I can get in."

Danni nodded her head. "I’ll drive myself in. You’d better go get your shower."

"Thanks, I’m kind of curious as to what’s up." She turned and started for the doorway into the living room.

"Gar…" Danni’s voice was soft and quivering, "you’ll let me know what’s up, won’t you?" She watched the surgeon nod in agreement then head toward the shower.

Garrett stood in the outer office waiting to be seen by Dr. McMurray. It was his summons that had brought her here. Waiting patiently, she moved along from one wall to the other gazing at the photographs of the man’s life and career. It always intrigued her how he had managed to have some pictorial archive from every aspect of his illustrious tenure in the capacity of Chief of Trauma Services. Even the fact that most of the photographs were also taken with his wife in them, kept her more in awe than she cared to openly admit.

‘I bet it’s wonderful to know that someone stands by you no matter what. I can see why he loves his wife so much.’ Garrett moved on to study the next picture in the line up and stood tilting her head from side to side, deciding just what it was about the picture that caught her eye. Absorbed in it, the surgeon hadn’t noticed the opening of the door or the advancement of her mentor into the reception area.

"I was a young snipper when that one was taken." The Ol’ Cutter stood next to her and studied the picture for the zillionth time in his life. "I was fresh out of my transitional year and ready to take on the world of surgery." He chuckled slightly. "I had a new shiny scalpel in my bag, back then we still carried them, and two dollars in my pocket. You would have thought I was a king." McMurray leaned in toward her. "Do you see anything out of place about that picture? Go on," he nudged her, "take a good look at it."

Garrett stepped closer and studied it intently. "Why, isn’t that your wife in the background?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, technically not. I hadn’t even met her yet, let alone married to her. She just happened to be there, like she was in all of the rest of the pictures. It was like fate had dictated that we would meet and spend the rest of our lives together."

The tall woman stepped back slightly, shaken at what he had said. The surgeon’s mind jumped to the loop of her memory where she had come barreling through the front E.R. doors at the beginning of her shift on that first day, nearly running smack into Danni.

"Do you believe in fate, Dr. Trivoli?"

"I’m beginning to think so, sir. Why do you ask?"

"I think that our fates are planned out for us even before we are born. They write our story in the sands of time and it’s our obligation to live them out here on earth."

"Excuse me, Dr. McMurray," his secretary spoke up. "You have that Board Meeting at eight o’clock, remember?"

"Yes, the Board. Thank you, Stella, for reminding me." His voice was now more business-like than mystical. "Come on into the office Garrett and I’ll tell you why I asked you to stop by."

Garrett followed him in and sat in the chair that he offered to her. She didn’t know why she was there and right now she didn’t really care. All that kept running through her mind was the young "snipper" photograph and the thought of someone else being in control of her life.

The Ol' Cutter rounded his desk and sat down. Leaning forward, he began to speak. "I won't beat around the bush, Trivoli. I don't have time for that. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything, sir, just ask." Garrett respected her mentor and would do anything to help him out. "I’m getting kind of bored, not being able to fly and all."

"Good, I was hoping that you would be eager to help. I figured that you’d be pretty tired of doing rounds and the clinic by now. You having any trouble with that ankle…I mean…standing on it for a while?"

"I’m not using the crutches if that’s what you mean." She tested her ankle and smiled. "I think that I could manage a round of surgery or two a day. Of course, that’s without jumping up and down." She teased him to make her point.

"That’s good then. One of our former Chief Resident's is in a bind and needs some surgical bail out." He looked at her coyly. "You wouldn’t mind doing a few emergent appendectomies or anything like that, would you? I mean that if you would, I could always send somebody else…"

The woman's eyes lit up as thoughts of O.R. time was being dangled in front of her. "Me, mind a few appy’s? Never, just tell me where to go and who to talk to. I’m on my way."

"I believe you know him, too. It's David Beckman." McMurray watched the expression on her face turn cold. "Is there some problem between you and he that I'm not aware of?"

"No, sir. No problem professionally." The woman's body tensed, as she was becoming more defensive.

"Personally, then?" He eyed her suspiciously as he watched her eyebrow raise in challenge. "Did something happen the night of the dinner that I don’t know about?"

"No! I…I…it’s nothing. I assure you that nothing will get in my way of treating the patients."

"Alright then, I made arrangements for you to stay at the hospital in a call room of your own. While you are there, all of your meals will be covered by the Department of Surgery."

She nodded. "When do I start and for how long?"

The Ol’ Cutter smiled at her, pleased that he could count on the talented surgeon. "I told them you’d be there by noon." He winked and nodded. "Stella will have the directions for you and anything else that you might need. Who knows, maybe this is something that the fates have had in store for you all along." He teased.

She smiled wryly at his remark. "If that’s all, I’ll get my things, along with a few changes of clothing and be on my way." She watched him, nodded, and rose from the chair to leave.

"Trivoli," he called out as she came to the door.

Turning back to him she answered. "Yes?"

"Thanks."

There was no need to leave the house, not just yet anyway. Garrett had taken her own car and Danni really did want to address the pile of mail that was left on the desk in her slot. She hadn’t had time to do any of the normal things that her life used to consist of since the tall, raven-haired woman came into her life. ‘Normal? How can anything be normal when I’m gay?’

The petite blonde thought about the topsy-turvy way that her life was spinning out of the realm of control. ‘I can hear it now when Mother finds out that I’m gay. She’s going to have a stroke.’ Danni shook her head as she sorted through the mail. ‘She’ll disown me and throw me right out of the…’

Danni put the rest of the mail down and hastily opened the one with the familiar writing. The delicate paper from some rich looking stationery set fell neatly open with little help from her. The nurse’s eyes quickly skimmed down the page until she came to the last line. It was now that she began coughing and hitting her chest with her empty, open hand. The nurse’s eyes got bigger, "Mother," she sighed. "How did you find out already when the woman of my dreams shares a house with me, works with me, and she still doesn’t know it yet?"

"What the hell is she talking about?" Danni turned the page over and looked at the back of it. It was blank. The petite woman picked up the envelope and stared into the gaping hole as she held it opened and then reread the name on the front of the envelope. It was for her all right, only Danni had no idea what in the world her mother was talking about with the phrase, ‘Take care of my Grandbabies.’

The woman looked down at her compact but shapely body, even going as far as to lift her T-shirt and gaze at her own flat stomach. "Mother, you are really losing it now if you think I’m…I’m pregnant."

The tall dark-haired woman froze in mid step as she came in the front door, her cool blue eyes flashing in total amazement of what she had just heard. The instant replay of her mind spinning backwards then forward again. Each and every time it did, the same phrase rang true. ‘I’m pregnant.’ The pained blue eyes slowly looked over Danni’s taunt exposed abdomen. Garrett felt the anger grow deep inside her when she realized who it must have been by. David, no doubt.

If she thought that she had personal issues with Dr. Beckman before, well, this just put the icing on the cake. ‘And you thought everything was fine when you found her asleep in your bed that morning, didn’t you? Well, I guess it didn’t take all night to give her that present.’ The surgeon breathed deeply trying to calm her body from the out crying of rage that she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Feeling the reigns of control take over her body, Garrett focused on controlling her mind.

It was not what the surgeon had in mind for the way things should be, not after her body had given her the idea that Danni may be as interested in her, as she was becoming in the petite woman herself. But she was certain of things now and that was that the nurse would prefer males, with that one particular male being none other than Dr. David Beckman.

The blonde woman released her shirt as she clutched tighter onto the letter. The sound of the opening door had startled her and she stood staring at the tall figure as if she were a deer caught in the headlights of some fast moving vehicle. Finally, she was able to speak. "Gar? What are you doing home?"

"I came home to pack a bag. McMurray is sending me down to help out at…" Garrett thought before she finished, "another hospital."

Danni shoved the letter into her pocket. "Where are we going and for how long? What am I supposed to pack for, flying or inside hospital work?" The nurse was eager to get underway. She loved working with the surgeon.

"Ah, Danni, Dr. McMurray didn’t say anything about you coming along." Blue eyes looked directly into green and could see the pained look of separation hidden there. "I…I guess that I could call him and see if it was an oversight on his part." The surgeon slipped her phone from her pocket, hitting the speed dial as she brought it up to her ear.

The nurse stood looking hopeful while she waited for Garrett to get her the answer.

"Stella, is Dr. McMurray still in the office?" She paused than nodded her head. "I just wanted to ask him a quick question."

Danni stepped close to the tall woman, her head leaning towards the phone.

"Oh, good. I caught you before you left. I don’t remember you saying anything about Dan…ah…Nurse Bossard. Is she to go with me?"

Danni strained on tiptoe to get closer until she was practically leaning on Garrett’s shoulder. She could hear the gruff voice coming across the airwaves. "No, she’ll work in the E.R. for the time that you’re gone. They just need a surgeon to cover their emergencies for now."

Garrett turned to observe Danni’s face and saw the start of tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you, sir. I’m sorry if I wasted your time." The surgeon was glad that she didn’t have to tell the young woman next to her that she was not going along. It would be hard enough to not have her around but to have to be the one to tell her that she wasn’t needed would have been even worse. ‘You better get used to it, Trivoli. She’s not going to be in your life for much longer, at least, not how you’d like it to be.’

She brought the phone away from her head. The look on her face said it all. She was disappointed at both McMurray and David for taking the one thing that she had come to rely on in her life out of the picture, Danni.

Thrown back into her world of self sufficiency, Garrett drove along the highway until she reached her destination, a rather moderately sized brick building that was the work place of Danni’s baby’s father, Dr. David Beckman. Oh, would she love to do a few things to him. Leaving her emotions for the man and the situation in which she found herself in the car, she gathered her duffel bag up and walked into the hospital ready to accept her new assignment.

"I’m here to meet with Dr. Beckman, I’m Dr. Trivoli. Could you page him for me?" Garrett let her eyes drift over the lobby. It wasn’t the kind of hospital that she had been used to working at. Her career had always driven her to choose the larger, more cutting edge kind.

"Yes, Doctor." The receptionist was polite.

Garrett turned her back to the desk and took in the feel of the entire room. Her mind sent images of Danni in every corner as she imagined the petite blonde moving down to West Virginia to live with David and raise her family. She could see Danni sacrificing herself for the good of the baby and David’s career. ‘Good gosh, she’s so good at doing that. Giving it all up for everyone else and grabbing on to nothing for herself.’

It was now that Garrett Trivoli wondered if she could ever be like that, giving it all up for the sake of someone else. But wasn’t she doing just that now? Giving up exploring a remote chance with Danni because she thought her friend wanted something…no, someone else. Well, wasn’t it? The surgeon’s mind questioned her own motives and that was when she realized that the young woman behind the desk was talking to her.

"Huh?" Garrett turned back to the woman. "I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention."

The woman had noticed, but it wasn’t her job to point this out. "He’ll meet you on the second floor, right outside of the Operating Room." She stated for a third time.

"Thank you." Garrett said reluctantly and reached down into her depths to put that old mask of stoicism back into place.

Danni had reported into the E.R. for work. She would be an extra pair of hands in an already short-staffed emergency area. The nurse welcomed the chance to keep busy and willingly jumped into her duties. She thought positively. The more that she worked, the faster the time would pass and her raven-haired friend would be back in her world.

The nurse stood waiting for an elevator, after having transported a patient to the floor, when the familiar voice startled her.

"Nurse Bossard." The older gentleman nodded toward her in greeting. "I’m glad to see that you’re keeping busy without a certain surgeon to look after."

Danni turned on her heels, ready to meet the challenge, only to see the Ol’ Cutter standing just a few feet away. "I…ah…good morning, sir," her voice having a bit of an edge to it.

"Hmmm…mad at me are you for breaking up the team?"

The petite blonde just glared at him. "You’re the boss."

"Trivoli needed a little time to herself, O.R. time." He grunted. "Besides, who else could I send and not worry about doing their best. In fact, I was kind of glad when Dr. Beckman called me with the request."

"David asked…"

"For a surgeon to help out in a sticky situation. Seems some of their surgeons were at a conference and got stuck without transportation for a couple of days and just yesterday, another one of their surgeons fell and broke his arm. They seemed to be in a bit of a bind for a few days."

"He didn’t ask for her specifically did he?" ‘David if you did, I’ll kill you.’

"Why no. He just asked for someone to cover their emergency surgeries." He thought about that for a moment. "David said that he wouldn’t need someone for more than two or three days."

Now Danni really had something to think about while she waited for Garrett to come home. ‘I wonder if I’ll be one of the subjects that come up when he talks to her?’

The sound of the ding for the elevator was heard and grabbed both of their attentions. The arrow pointed up as the doors began to open.

"That’s for me." Dr. McMurray advanced onto the car and turned to face forward. "She’ll be home before you know it." He nodded reassuringly just as the doors closed.

Danni stood there wide-eyed and wondering. ‘Home before I know it. Now if I only knew what David's going to do, now that he has her all to himself? As if I don’t already know.’

Garrett waited outside of the swinging double doors to the Operating Room, her fingers nervously playing with the change in her pocket as she thought about how it would feel to be back in surgery. How she loved to be in the thick of things, the leader in a well-orchestrated symphony of surgical skills. She let her thoughts drift as she turned and stared out the window overlooking the small rural area.

It was funny how her mind evolved from the thick of surgery to one petite blonde, but it did. Everywhere she looked, the surgeon saw Danni in different stages of her pregnancy and with David not far behind. Garrett closed her eyes tightly trying to will the images away from her view. ‘Well, McMurray, I guess this is my fate now, isn’t it?’ She turned and opened her eyes to see David emerge from the doorway. ‘Why did you have to send me?’

"Ah, Dr. Trivoli. I see that you made it a little earlier than I planned."

The surgeon swallowed the bile that was gathering in the back of her throat. "Yes, it seems that I’m a little earlier than planned for all around today." Garrett thought of the earlier surprise that made her aware of Danni’s condition. "I hope I’m not too early for you now."

"No, in fact, now is a good time. I just finished a case and I can show you around."

Garrett reached for her duffel bag and shouldered it. "Lead on," she said dryly and waited to follow him.

"First, let’s get you settled in." He motioned for her to follow and after a few quick turns down the hallway, they stood in front of a door. Producing a key, he opened the door and ushered her into the room. "This is my call room. I’ll let you put your things in here and this will be where you’ll sleep when you need to. I’ll use my office for the nights that I’m on call." He held out the key for her to take.

"Thanks," she took the key and then eyed the mattress as she laid her bag down on it. ‘I wonder if this was where…NO, I don’t want to go there now.’ "I won’t be spending much time in here, but thanks. Now, can you show me to the Emergency Department? That’s what you want me to cover, right?"

"Yeah," David noticed the changed expression in her eyes when she looked at the bed, "I’ll show you the way right now." He motioned for her to go through the doorway ahead of him. As she did, the man looked back at the single, made up bed and wondered just what Danni saw in this woman. She just seemed so cold and aloof to have someone like the blonde nurse be interested in her. He exited the room and closed the door behind him, hearing the click of the lock as it set in place.

"I’ll need to see the E.R., the O.R., and the Recovery Room." Her voice was all business as she followed him down the hall. "Maybe the Cafeteria, too." She added with the thought of Danni running through her head.

"I can do that." David chuckled. "I didn’t think that you were a big eater like Danni." He watched the expression on her face soften at the mention of the woman’s name. Yes, she had a soft spot for the nurse somewhere in that stoic heart.

"I’m not. I’m just used to asking, for her sake." She raised an eyebrow in challenge.

David smiled and nodded his head. "She grows on you after a while, doesn’t she?"

‘And I’m sure that you’re going to get first hand evidence of that in just a very short time.’ Garrett bit at her lip not wanting her thoughts to slip out. After all, it wasn’t her place to tell him he was a father in the making. No, that was strictly between Danni and him. The tall woman continued to follow his lead without commenting on his question, hoping to put an end to the small talk.

They rounded the corner and came to a door marked Stairwell No. 3. Opening it, David started on his rehearsed speech. "We’re headed down to the first floor now and the area right outside of the Trauma Room. The hospital is only providing services on a Level Three accreditation, that means we only receive and keep traumas during the hours of 7 in the morning until 7 at night when the full compliment of services are available."

"And what of the other twelve hours?"

"We stabilize and transport to a Level One facility, such as the one that you are on loan to us from."

Garrett wasn’t quite sure that she liked that thought, but it was one that she would have to live with for the next few days.

As they reached the bottom of the steps, David’s pager beeped as he reached for the door.

"Trauma Team Page Level One, Male mid to late 20’s with a single gunshot to chest, agonal breathing noted. ETA 2 minutes. This is a Level One Trauma Team Page."

David stopped short. He turned to the tall woman, his eyes pleading silently for help.

"Care if I scrub in with you, doctor? I’ll be able to get a first hand look at how your department runs that way." Her eyebrow arched as she waited for his acceptance of her help.

With a smile breaking at the corners of his mouth, he silenced the beeper. "Right this way, Dr. Trivoli. I’d be happy to have your assistance."

With a few twist and turns down the hallway, they soon found themselves in the newly arranged trauma room. The gathered nursing staff was dressing quickly in lead aprons, gowns and masks. The two surgeons followed suit, finishing as the medics wheeled the patient into the room.

Gasping, intermittent, labored breath sounds of the patient were noted as the stretcher passed in front of Garrett, alerting her of his dire straights. His skin was cool and clammy to touch while looking to be a pasty color of white.

"Can someone page Anesthesia to this room, STAT," her voice rose above the din of the room. Her ever-observant eyes caught sight of small pool of blood on the left side of the stretcher sheet. "Cut his shirt off on the right side of his body and across the left shoulder and sleeve, we’ll need to keep that left side intact for the police."

David pressed his finger deep into the nail bed of the patient’s thumb then released it. The poor blood return allowed the whitened nail to remain that way for a lengthy period of time. "Let’s hang two units of blood." Looking up to the heart monitor he could see the slowing complexes signifying the outcome of a dying man. "Let’s check for pulses," he directed his staff.

Both surgeons felt for pulses, Garrett at the neck and David at the groin. After several seconds had passed by, they met each other’s gaze. The look in their eyes became cold and steely, as each of the surgeons knew what had to be done.

"Set up for a thoracotomy tray, we’re going to open his chest." David gulped. This wasn’t something that he had done on an almost daily basis anymore. The last time had been in his last week of residency back in Pittsburgh with Danni at his side. His thoughts drifted to the petite blonde nurse that he had come to adore but were quickly turned back on the task at hand when he saw the orange-brown splash of Betadine across the now bared chest to prep the area. ‘Thanks, Danni, for telling me that Dr. Trivoli was the one to steal your heart. And for her being here at this moment.’ He thought as he looked at the intensity on the face of the woman surgeon across the table from him. It gave him a newfound confidence as he forged on. "Let’s give a dose of Epinephrine."

The crash cart was pulled into place and opened, revealing the drugs necessary to work a cardiac arrest with ease. The expertise of the dark, curly-haired nurse betrayed her look of youth. This was something that she was evidently deft and well rehearsed at over the years. With a calm air about her, she readied the prefilled syringes, giving each one in succession as she called out the drug and time that it was administered as well as location of intravenous line used.

With a flurry of feet a new person entered the arena. "I’m here now, what is it that you…" the anesthesiologist suddenly realized that his skills were indeed needed immediately. "Let me through, I’ll need a curved blade on that laryngoscope and set up a size 8 endotracheal tube." He called out his orders, making his way to the head of the patient. Grabbing a set of gloves from out of his pocket, he readied himself to intubate the hardly breathing patient. With skilled hands that had a lifetime of practice, the physician started to place the tube. "Damn! I need suction, he’s got vomit blocking the airway." A suction catheter appeared in the hand of the male nurse standing by his side. After a few quick passes to remove the obstruction, the vocal cords could be visualized, allowing the intubation to be completed successfully. He remained at the head of the patient, manually breathing for him with the large oxygen-filled bag attached to the endotube, holding it in place while the nurse secured the tube from dislodging. The anesthesiologist watched as both sides of the patient’s chest rose as he squeezed the oxygen into the patient’s lungs. Convinced that the tube was properly positioned, he gave a nod to the surgeons to begin.

Garrett stood poised and ready with a scalpel in her hand; after all, it was her side of the chest that had been penetrated by the bullet. "Okay, everybody ready?" She began to make the incision down the length of the ribs cutting hastily through the tissue to bring the contents of the chest cavity into view.

"Rib spreaders," David commanded, his hand held out ready to accept them.

The nurse held up two pieces, looking at him with horror in her eyes. "I don’t think these are going to do anything, Doc."

"Shit! What the hell…" his mind raced with thought. "Get me another rib spreader."

Garrett acting in her normally cool, in control manner didn’t let the moment of failed equipment stop her from obtaining her goal. She would just use what she had at hand. "You and you," she motioned with her head to the two people on either side of her. "Each one of you grab on a rib and separate them until the rib spreader comes."

The two nurses jumped at the command, not knowing what else to do as the aide took off down the hall for the spare set of rib spreaders. When enough space was gained, the sinewy, gloved fingers of the surgeon gently pushed aside the expanding lobes of lung, revealing the inner contents of the cavity.

The nurses peered down into the chest, realizing that their own hands were literally now a part of the procedure.

David adjusted the large surgical spotlight above them as they looked to see the extent of the damage caused by the small 22mm bullet.

"I have the rib spreaders!" The aide came dashing back into the room as she tore open the sterile packaging.

Taking the intact spreaders, David worked to put them in place. "Okay, you can let go now, thanks." He watched as the hands of the nurses withdrew, making sure that the hands of the other surgeon were not encumbered in any way.

"Get an abdominal X-ray, there seems to be hardly any blood in this chest cavity. She looked over the muscle that pumped the blood throughout the body. Instead of a full, well-rounded and beating heart, there was a contracted and non-moving mass. "We’ve got to expand his volume. Give him two more units of blood and open up the other lines with Lactated Ringers’ going." She began to gently massage the firm muscle, trying to get the chambers to open up and accept the newly replenished volume of life giving fluid. A moment or two passed by until she could feel the muscle begin to beat of its own accord. She withdrew her hands as both surgeons bent over the opening, looking for any source of bleeding and injury.

"Here! It looks like a hole in the diaphragm." David saw it first.

"Suture, please." She responded immediately to his words. "Call the O.R. and tell them that we need a room, we’re coming up." The words rolled out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. Her eyes flashed over to David, in hoping that he realized the critical nature of the patient. "Don’t you think, Dr. Beckman?"

"Yes, definitely." He hurried to assist her with clipping the suturing thread after it was knotted. "Get us an elevator to the O.R. Pack up, we’re moving in a minute." He threw down the surgical scissors onto the pile of utensils that they had used and draped a sterile blue towel over the still exposed chest.

He stepped back long enough for the nursing staff to attach the patient to a portable monitor and accumulate the bags of hanging intravenous fluids onto the one-wheeled pole that the blood infuser was on. The quantity of activity in the room was mind boggling as every person readied the patient for the trip to the operating theater.

"The elevator’s here," someone announced.

Garrett motioned to the surgeon across from her, "Lead on, I’m right behind you." She ripped off her gloves and grabbed a fresh pair as they left the room, David in the lead. She stopped momentarily as the X-ray of the patient’s abdomen was being hung on the view box. She sighed deeply, knowing all too well that the extent of the patient’s injuries lay within that area. She fell instep behind the entourage as it started into the elevator.

"Who else would end up in the O.R. assisting on a Trauma Case during an orientation?" She shook her head in disbelief, making a mental note to tell her roommate of her adventure. She could see her already, her mouth open and wanting to know why she wasn't along for the ride. A smile hid itself under her masked face as thoughts of the blonde nurse danced through her mind. She found that happening more and more. ‘Better learn to squelch that now, before it becomes a habit, Trivoli. She’ll be his dreams now.’ The tall woman looked ahead to David, slowly resigning herself to that fate.

Danni sat at the kitchen table without a single light on in the house. It was getting to be dusk and the light was fading from the day. So much like her life. Without the surgeon there with her, the nurse’s life seemed to pale in spirit. The petite woman didn’t like the feeling of loneliness that was creeping over her, nor did she enjoy the emptiness of the house around her.

And so she sat there, waiting for the dark to overshadow her, while that ill- begotten letter kept coming to the front of her mind. What the hell was her mother talking about? She took it out and read it once more in the fading light. Her mind searching for answers, she thought to call Brie then quickly decided against it. To call Brie would be like talking directly to Mother and Danni didn’t need that right now, not when her mind was on Garrett. Besides, wasn’t that what was making the whole letter of Mother’s a little confusing anyway? Why would Mother say that Garrett was flirting with a woman unless…did she know that Danni had feelings for her?

Tight-lipped and calculating, Mrs. Bossard sat waiting for her son to return her phone call. It had taken her several days if not almost a full week to come to terms with the idea of having her oldest daughter impregnated with twins, bastards as they were. Now, she was ready to deal with the fact and, after some drastic planning, she considered the legal issues to be her best bet here. Matt was a lawyer and would, of course, know just how to go about it. The matriarch was pleased with herself for pushing him in that direction. It was one part of her blueprints for her children’s lives that had seemed to be working as planned. Now, if she could only get Danni’s life on track like she wanted it to be, then life would be good again.

The phone rang and she hurriedly picked it up, caring to not waste another second in time before her daughter and the family’s good name would be vindicated. "Hello, Mrs. Bossard speaking."

"Hello, Mother."

"Matthew, I’ve been waiting for your call. What took so long for you to find time to return it?" The sternness of her voice was evident.

"Mother, I was in court when you called."

"I bet if that Judge knew that it was your mother, he’d…"

"Well, I’m here now, what do you need?" He tried to corral her assault on his ears.

Her eyes flashed red at being directed in her thoughts by her son, but he was a good lawyer and she knew it. "Matt, your sister Danielle has gotten herself into a bit of trouble. I need you to take care of it without dragging the family name through the mud."

"Danni?" He thought of his gentle sister. "What could Danni have possibly done to get in trouble?"

"I prefer to think that it was not her fault at all."

"Mother, if you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help her," Matt pleaded his case.

"Alright, but this is strictly between you and me." The matriarch continued on in a hushed tone so as not to be heard by anyone but her son. "That surgeon that your sister has been seeing has gotten her pregnant and with twins, no doubt."

"Danni’s pregnant? Why I…"

"Oh, it gets better, too. Dr. Garrett Trivoli is also referring to her as his mistress and laughing about it to all his friends at the hospital. Then, if that’s not enough, I saw him proposition a lovely young woman right before my eyes to have…" she paused momentarily, "to have ‘IT’ in his office." Her face became red with anger and her lips tightened to thin little lines.

Matt was shocked at what he’d just heard. Quite frankly, being a lawyer and all, it took a lot for him to be speechless and he was indeed.

"His friends are even lying to Danni about his activities with other women. Trying to cover for him. Matt are you still there?"

The question startled him. "Yes, Mother, I’m here. What is it that you want me to do?"

"I won’t stand for any bastards in this family. Do whatever you can to correct this situation and do it soon. Why, to see your sister, she’ll be ready to deliver those babies before the summer is over. I want the name on those birth certificates to be Trivoli and not Bossard." She sniffed, trying to once again establish her dignity. "Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes, Mother. I’ll get on that right away." He heard the click on the other end and slowly lowered the phone from his ear. "Danni, what do you have yourself into now?"

He sat down at his desk and thought about the sister that he had always looked up to. She’d always been a freer spirit than Brie or he when it came to Mother’s law. Now, look at where she was, unmarried, pregnant and with a man that didn’t respect women in the least. He closed his eyes and prayed for guidance.

The surgeon sat crumpled up in a ball on the armed chair in the Recovery Room. It had been a long afternoon spent in surgery and an even longer night spent by the patient’s bedside. Garrett stretched her long limbs trying to get some life back into them before getting out of the chair. She wasn’t unaccustomed to going that extra mile for her patients; in fact, she regarded it as her duty and not just a job. It was the likes unseen for some of the nurses here in this smaller hospital. Most cases of this severity would be transferred to larger better-equipped hospitals.

Wiping the sleep away from her eyes, the surgeon focused on her patient. Her groggy, sleep-filled voice broke the air. "Any change since the last time?"

"No, he’s holding his own," the efficient nurse answered as she checked the drops in the I.V. chamber. "Can I get you some coffee, Doctor?"

Garrett nodded as she continued to gradually allow the rest of her cramped body to wake up. "Thanks. Say, what time is it?"

"Why, it’s just about change of shifts, ten minutes to seven…in the morning."

‘Well, that’s one night down and only a few more to go.’ She accepted the offered cup of coffee and sipped at it slowly. ‘I wonder what today will bring with it?’

The blonde nurse plodded along through another day without the sight of her dark-haired friend and already it was taking its toll on her spirit. Her steps seemed just a little less buoyant and her smile, not as quick to rise. But what it did to her work was even more obvious. She was like a taskmaster doling out the most menial jobs to herself. Everyone around her could see what she was doing, and that was to wear herself out. Perhaps, that would finally bring her sleep. She’d spent a long restless night and there were no signs of it being any different tonight.

Forced to take her lunch, Danni had ventured to the cafeteria to sustain her body with nourishment. It was there that she thought about the surgeon again, wondering if she was eating or just surviving on coffee and a quick bite here or there. Downing only a few morsels of food, the nurse made her way back to the E.R., sick to her stomach by the absence of her friend.

On her return to the E.R., her Manager, Nan, greeted Danni. "Hey, you got a message while you were at lunch."

Danni’s eyes perked up, as did her whole body. "I did?"

"Yeah, it’s on the clipboard at the charge desk."

The petite nurse’s eyes immediately looked in that direction. "Thanks, Nan." She made her way over to the desk and slipped the note out from under the clipboard mechanism; eager to see who it was from. Her thoughts were of Garrett as she unfolded the paper. "Call me tonight when you get home." The words murmured over her lips, then she looked at the name below it and her shoulders slumped as it registered. ‘Matt.’ She folded the paper and shoved it into her pocket. Just what she needed, more family members to see her in her pain.

The day in the rural community was not turning out too badly for the tall woman surgeon. The small but ever-busy E.R. had provided her with several cases for minor surgeries, two appendectomies and a nasty boil to be lanced at the bedside. It wasn’t much, but after not being in the O.R. everyday for several months, it was enough to keep even a surgeon of her caliber happy.

Garrett used the inside of her scrub top to wipe her face. She looked down at her watch and saw that there would be only another hour to go before her services as a Trauma Surgeon would be vanquished at 1900 by the decree of the Level Three Trauma Rating. ‘Then,’ she mused, ‘It’ll be time to hit the showers.’

Making her way back to her call room, she’d stop in and check on her patient from last night in the ICU and then the rest of the night would be hers to do with as she pleased.

Danni wasn’t more than a few steps inside of the house when the phone started to ring. Jumping on it as fast as she could, she lifted the receiver to her ear and spoke, "Gar?"

Taken aback by his sister’s eagerness, Matt was speechless for a moment then slowly began to speak. "Sorry, sis, it’s me, Matt."

With her hopes dashed, Danni slowly fought back the tear that was starting to roll over her lashes. "Matt, hi, I was just getting home when you called."

"I guess that Garrett is not with you." He sighed, not wanting to do this over the phone. "I was hoping to maybe talk with you both."

"Matt, I’m not sure when that could be. Ever since Gar’s ankle injury, we’ve been grounded. They’ve even loaned Garrett out to another hospital for a few days to fill in for an incapacitated surgeon. For all I know, it could be tonight or next week before we’re home together again."

His sympathy went out to his sister. ‘I wonder if that’s the truth he told her about not being at home for a while?’ "Sis, how about I drop in on Friday evening right after work. I’ll take my chances that Garrett will be there then."

"If I get a chance to talk to Gar, I will."

"Danni, are you taking care of yourself?" She felt the concern in his voice. "Mother mentioned that you were in court for something. I hope it was only to give testimony."

"Testimony on my part, but that Defense Attorney really tried to put Gar through the wringer. Thank the gods that it didn’t do any good." Danni sighed audibly. "You’re not like that are you, lil’ brother?"

Matt cleared his throat and coughed.

"Okay, I’ll let you off the hook." Danni shook her head. "Yeah I’m taking care of myself, I’m just a little lonely without Garrett being around. I’ll see you on Friday, Matt."

"Friday, then. Bye." He listened until he heard the sound of the line going dead. Man, how he hoped that his feelings about this surgeon were all wrong.

David had noticed that the tall, able-bodied surgeon had been avoiding him like the plague for the last day or so. Resolving to correct the situation by confronting her, he set on a course to intercept her before she could lock herself away behind a closed call room door. After several inquiries into her whereabouts, he was able to track her down to the surgeon’s showers in the O.R. dressing area. Now, all he had to do was wait for her to emerge. Armed with a cup of coffee, the man laid claim to a leather recliner in the lounge that faced the windowed door leading to the hall outside of the dressing room and waited.

Three coffees and a stale half a donut later, the tall woman surgeon emerged with her hair still damp and shaking it to help it dry. David brought the recliner to its upright position and got up to intercept the advancing woman.

"Garrett, could I have a word with you in my office?" He looked her straight in the eye. "Now?"

She did not want to do this for fear of something that she might say. But she was on his turf and needed to play by his rules not hers. Reluctantly, she nodded her head and stepped aside waiting to follow him down the hall.

Before she knew it, they were in his office and he was taking the seat behind the desk, leaving the lone upholstered chair in front of it for her. Self-consciously, she placed her toiletry bag down next to her in the enormous chair and shifted in the seat until she felt comfortable. There was silence in the room as each one watched the other for a moment before David finally spoke.

"So, Garrett, are you enjoying your stay with us?"

The stoic woman eyed him cautiously, not at all suspecting that to be the first thing out of his mouth. It took her by surprise. "As best as can be expected."

"Good, I’m glad that I finally got the chance to see what all the fuss was about. I mean…all that PR with the Flight Surgeon Team is building you up rather strongly. You even have Danni quite impressed. Now I can see why she picked the surgeon that she did."

"What do you mean, picked the surgeon that she did?" Her eyebrow rose with the emphasis of what she said. "We were put together by the Board of Directors."

David just smiled. "You do know that she is smitten with you, don’t you?"

"Yeah, right, that’s why she’s been seeing you. You’re a pompous ass if you don’t realize it. Why do you think that I had Rosie invite you up for that weekend of the Dinner?" Garrett glared at him. "It wasn’t to keep me company."

"Pompous ass? You think that you were doing me a favor?"

"Well, somebody had to take the bull by the horns. I’m just sorry that I didn’t stay out of it. I’m the one feeling responsible now that she’s…"

David looked at her suspiciously. "Now that she’s what?"

Garrett bit her tongue. It wasn’t supposed to come out this way and surely not from her mouth. "I just think that you’d show a little more responsibility in her favor."

"Responsibility for what?" He started to get angered by her vague accusations. "What did I do…try to show her a good time, take her out and go dancing with her?"

That was it. Garrett had had enough. There would be no more beating around the bush. "You’re the one that got her in that condition and you don’t even have a clue."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"She’s pregnant." Garrett’s eyes locked into his and the icy cold of their gaze nearly froze him.

"She’s what? How could that be?" His face turned pale. "Why you don’t think that I…I had anything to do with it?"

The steel blue-gray eyes bore holes into his flesh as the lone eyebrow edged ever upward with her answer. "You’re a doctor, now what do you think?"

"Hey, I never…I never made it past her neck. How could I be the one that…" David sprang to his feet in his defense. "She told me she was…"

"What, on the pill?" Garrett now rose to her feet in defense of her friend.

"That she was a lesbian and I…"

That was all that David could get out before the large hand hauled off and struck him in the face. The smart of her knuckles grinding into the side of his face stung like crazy and it wasn’t long before the small trickle of blood came running from his nose. To say that it caught him off guard was an understatement.

Holding the side of his face, he shook his head trying to get the stars to stop spinning in front of his eyes. He wasn’t sure what had hit him, a Mack truck or the woman in front of him. David wiped his nose with his sleeve, the blood smearing across his face.

"Trivoli, you’re a fool. I don’t know what she ever saw in you to love you. I can’t believe that she could ever love you knowing that violent side exists."

"What do you mean, she loves me?"

"You heard me. She told me that herself when she was down here last month." David shook his head in disbelief. "You are a dense idiot, aren’t you? You don’t even believe it when it’s told right to your face."

"She couldn’t be…why she’s…she’s…"

"She’s in love with you. Head over heels, I might add." His voice was growing calmer and the major blow up was over. "If you don’t believe me, maybe you should ask her yourself." He watched as the tall woman worked her mouth, speechless at what had just been said.

She blinked several times as it all began to sink in.

"Surely, you must have known."

Garrett’s eyes darted around the room as the words were sinking further in. Her hands relaxed and the fists became undone. She carefully looked David in the eye and knew that there was truth in what he was speaking. It was then, that she saw the growing bruise on the side of his face and the telltale rings of discoloration around his eye. "I…" she cleared her throat. "You better get that checked out and get some ice on it." She bent down and picked up her toiletry bag from the chair. "I’m sorry." The surgeon spoke quietly then turned to leave. She needed time to think things out. Everything was just rushing at her like the wind in a hurricane.

Garrett wandered off down the hall and found herself standing in front of her call room. Producing the key from her pocket, she let herself in and sank down onto the bed. There she sat with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

It only took a few minutes for her to feel as though the walls were closing in on her in that small room. The closer they came in her mind, the more her heart pounded, and soon she grabbed her belongings, and shoved them into the duffel bag. It was now or never, and she left the room striding, never minding to close the door. Off down the hall she bolted until she could feel the fresh air in her face as she walked out the hospital’s door.

Suddenly she found herself seated in her Blazer, staring into the night’s sky. She rolled down the driver’s window and sank down into the seat letting her headrest on the open window’s ledge. She watched the stars in the sky overhead and wondered about her own insignificant place in the workings of the universe. ‘Is this really where the fates deem me to be?’

The surgeon stayed like that for what seemed an eternity but was really only the batting of an eye in the scheme of the universe before she sat up and turned the key in the ignition to on. The powerful engine answered the call as the rough idle turned into a steady purr. She slipped it into gear and was ready to go.

The small blonde form lay curled up in her bed. Sleep was not as casually sought as it had once been and the lines were beginning to show on her forehead. How much longer could she go without sleep and still be able to function in her job was now her biggest concern. Perhaps a warm soak would ease the tension in her body.

Danni got up and headed to the bathroom to draw her tub. Within minutes, she was disrobed and slowly lowering her body into the soothing waters. There she lay, allowing the warmth of the water to leech out the aches and pains that had built up over the past few days. When the time had come that she could feel her eyes becoming heavy with sleep, she unstopped the bath water and reached for the large lush towel to dry off on. Raising her body up, she wrapped in the towel and proceeded to her bed.

Letting the bath towel slip from her body to the floor, she climbed in between the cool crisp sheets and found her somniferous mind to be filled with lecherous thoughts as she felt the bedding glide over her body. It was only minutes before sleep held her in its realm.

Ebbing somewhere between sleep and awake, Danni could feel the presence of another in her world and struggled to welcome it as though it had always been there, though just out of sight. Her eyes now opened to settle on the tall form standing in the doorway. The splash of back lighting from the hall kept the form in silhouette. The nurse’s body cried out with want as the form drew closer.

Before she realized it, the womanish form was next to her bed, kneeling down to get closer to her face. There, she heard the whisper that her heart had been longing for forever. In the soft tones of a voice filled with emotions, Garrett’s words came to her ear. "Danni, I love you."

The nurse reached out her small hand and cupped the cheek of her friend. "I know…I’ve known for quite sometime."

Danni stared into the soft silhouette of the face she’d gazed at in longing a hundred times before and felt the wetness of the single tear that rolled gently down its cheek. Capturing it with her thumb, she wiped it from the face and drew her nearer to her own. The long strands of hair fell loosely over her arm as the two bodies merged closer to their goal, the kiss, and the tie that would forever sustain their love.

Soft, moistened lips edged ever closer to their matched set until they touched in the firm sensual embrace that only lovers share. Their bodies were full of emotion and their souls longing to once again establish that searing energy that gave life to the spark of their passion. Each stood mesmerized in time by the other’s touch until they broke apart, gasping for the breath to continue on with their quest.

The heavily labored breathing was like a catalyst to their bodies’ desires as words rushed forward from one’s lips to the other’s ear.

"Garrett, I love you like no one else on earth."

"I want you to feel my love as it pours out of my very soul."

The surgeon lured Danni up from the bed with soft kisses that slowly pulled her to a sitting position, the covers falling away from the woman’s body. With Danni’s legs cast over the side of the bed, Garrett stood up before the nurse and straddled her lower limbs, bringing their bodies closer than before.

Reaching up under the loose fitting scrub top, the nurse let her hands roam freely over the taunt musculature of the woman before her. The soft touch made Garrett inhale deeply then exhale with the undertones of a moan in her throat as her head was thrown back to gaze at the darkened ceiling with closed eyes. The waves of sensation were coursing through her body to the point of making her weak in the knees and she felt herself come to rest against the bed. Soon she could feel the coolness of the room air on her body as the shirt was lifted over her shoulders. Lowering her body to assist with its removal over her head, Garrett found her unencumbered arms now wrapped tightly around the soft, warm body of the nurse and their lips once again finding the other’s.

The petite blonde now slipped her hands under the sides of the sports bra and slowly slid it over the fullness of breasts that it was used to support. The kiss was broken only long enough to remove the article of clothing from encumbering them any further. The excitement of skin touching skin was like an elixir to their souls and Danni sought more flesh to revel in. Untying the drawstrings of the scrub pants and loosening the material allowed it to glide smoothly down to where the surgeon’s knees rested against the bed. The only thing left now was the small amount of silky material that covered her most intimate assets. The stretchiness of the elastic in the boxers allowed for ease in their removal as first one leg was lifted and then the other stepped out of the gathering of clothes at her ankles.

The closeness of the two bodies became much like that of a dance as their presence was felt on the bed, each kneeling and leaning into the other. Hands and arms moved independently of the other as large expanses of skin were left tingling by each other’s touch. Words were at a minimum now with all of their efforts concentrated on the physical as one body rejoiced in the sensation aroused in it by the other. Danni was the first to succumb to the heady aroma as her mind became clouded with visions of passions from times long forgotten in her soul’s journey. Her body was held in Garrett’s strong arms as they laid her down into the soft bedding that nestled around her.

It was there in that warm soft cloud, that her nipples became hardened and tender to the touch of the long, sinewy fingers that plied them with caresses.

The nurse tried to form words in her mouth but with her first syllable, she heard instead the rich, soft tone of Garrett’s voice. "Not now my love. Let our actions speak for us both." And with that, the stage was set. No more words would fall between them, to be misunderstood or misconstrued, until their hearts knew what the other was feeling.

Soft kisses laced the expanse of warm flesh as each took turns with the other in this game of heightened sensual arousal. Garrett worked her way meticulously down nearly every inch of upper torso until it all had been covered. With nothing but the petite woman’s lower half left to explore, the surgeon eased her hands lower to just brush fluidly over Danni’s hips and cross over to her thighs. Immediately the alarms were going off in the young blonde’s head. Her blood pressure rising to heights never ventured as the ringing in her ears grew louder.

It was finally going to happen and Danni found herself rejoicing in the fact that her first, last and forever lover would be none other than Garrett Trivoli.

Her body’s alarms seemed to be going off consistently with a pattern of their own, not keeping beat with the passion that the two were moving with. Deep within the realm of her subconscious mind, Danni recognized the noise and found her right hand leaving the warm, sweaty body of her lover to reach for the phone on the nightstand. Tempered with the reality of their almost continuous state of being on-call for emergencies, Danni brought the phone to her ear.

The dead silence on the other end threw her until she heard the start of slow rhythmic breathing that became heavy at times and startled her. Opening her eyes, she stared out into the blackness of the room and realized that she was alone with the covers wrapped tightly around her. She could feel her body still pulsating from the touch of her invisible lover and felt cheated by the sound of the raspy breathing on the other end. Staring into the phone she found herself angered and on the verge of tears. "Like I really needed this phone call right now. Let me tell you, buddy, you’re way too late." Her words were sharp and she could feel the tears streaming down her face as she slammed the receiver onto the cradle of the phone.

"Damn it anyway. Garrett, where are you?" The young woman’s voice sounded out into the night with anguish. "I need you."

Rolling over Danni hugged at her pillow and cried herself to sleep.

Garrett rolled back into her parking space just a little before her time to come on shift. She’d spent the night driving and thinking about what David had said to her the evening before. Her only stop during the last nine hours had been at an all night coffee shop on the highway where she sat and drank down several cups of the warming liquid.

If David was right, and Garrett’s own emerging feelings were true, the surgeon felt like she had wasted a year of time by not allowing Danni to get closer than she had. How could she approach her now with only a few short weeks left and offer her love? She couldn’t, it wouldn’t be fair to either one of them.

The surgeon had already made a commitment over the phone with a hospital that was across the country in Arizona. She’d followed her plan and finagled her best offer into one of truly stellar proportions. It would be impossible to carry on a relationship of any kind that far away from one another. Besides, all of Danni’s family and friends were here in the ‘Burgh. How could she ask her to give them all up just to be with her?

It seemed like the fates had already decided what would happen and there was nothing that she could do about it. ‘Well, at least it’s not like we’re lovers or such.’ "She’ll forget me after I’m gone." Garrett thought about the friendly, outgoing nurse. ‘The question is, will I ever forget her?’ And deep in her heart, the surgeon knew the answer, never. Not for as long as she breathed would she forget the kindness of the young woman’s soul to have shown her the warmness of friendship and the comfort of love.

With a new mindset, Garrett Trivoli emerged from that night to cherish the rest of her time with the young nurse, Danni Bossard, for she would never know when the next time would come that she would be graced with her company might come along. She vowed to herself, more than anything, to be able to carry her always within the realms of her heart.

The days moved swiftly now as each worked long, tedious hours until the day arrived that Garrett was no longer needed to help out. The few days spent in David’s company had been more than enlightening. The slightly chubby teddy bear of a man showed her all of the grace and charm that a well-schooled host could offer his guests. It would have been easy for him to turn on her with anger, but he didn’t, and instead explained his well-defined black eye as one being received by a delirious and wildly swinging patient under his care. He had no intent to single her out, but instead felt for the woman as she was coming to terms with her life.

As she left that last day, David had offered his hand in friendship and meant it. Garrett took it and thanked him for his understanding of her beleaguered soul. He would be the first of many that she would need to say good-bye to. With some, it would not be as difficult but with others, she dreaded the day that was coming.

Her time had been short in this rural community but she had learned a few valuable lessons, ones that she would never forget. And with that, she got into her Blazer and headed back to Pittsburgh.

Danni waited patiently for her roommate to arrive home. She’d gotten word through Dr. McMurray that the Flight team would be back in service for the Memorial Day Weekend. Delighted by the thought, she readied for their first flight together again as a team. With the end of the work day fast approaching and no sight of the large stoic surgeon, she gathered up her gear and headed home to where she hoped one tall, dark and dreadfully missed surgeon would be waiting to see her face.

Pulling into the parking space outside her house, Danni got out of her Malibu and scoured the street for the familiar black, full-size Blazer. It was not there. Perhaps she had run into a late surgery or had trouble on the road. The nurse’s mind thought for a minute to use the number of her cell phone but thought that it might seem too needy on her account. Walking up the steps to her front door, Danni paused and looked one last time up and down the street, but there was nothing. She entered the door and pulled it tightly closed behind her.

Her routine was running its normal pattern as she shuffled through the mail and sorted it out. It was an easy sort as everything was for her except one lone envelope addressed to Dr. Garrett Trivoli, M.D. She looked at the envelope curiously, as it was not the first from that same place. "Arizona, huh?" Danni tapped it on the palm of her hand. "They must be eager to entice her." She laid the letter on Garrett’s side of the desk and went on to her next chore, dinner.

Moving into the kitchen, Danni made herself a large salad for dinner and pulled out a chair to sit down and eat it. Her attention was distracted by the sound of someone trying the front door. With a surge of anticipation a mile long, Danni sprinted for the door, convinced that it was her missing roommate. Pulling the door open, Danni was surprised to see the figure of her brother poised to knock on the door. "Gar…Matt?" The look on her face was one of utter disappointment. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Sis! Nice to see you too." He said sheepishly.

"Oh, Matt, sorry, I forgot you were coming." She pulled the door wide open and welcomed him in. "Come on, let me get you something to drink. Have a seat and I’ll be right in."

Matt did so and took a seat in the first available chair. He watched as his sister went out on the doorstep and looked up and down the street for the familiar vehicle. Not having seen it, she came back in and closed the door.

"Water, juice, beer, wine?" she asked him as she breezed in toward the kitchen.

"A beer would be fine, Danni. It will help me to unwind."

"So, what’s so important that you need to come here to see me and to meet Garrett?" Danni yelled in from the kitchen. "Is mother in a snit about something?" She decided to play dumb and not acknowledge the letter she had received.

"Well, Sis," he took the beer and opened it. "Mother wanted me to check out this Garrett and make sure that you were being well taken care off." He eyed her rather flat stomach as she walked past him and thought about the possibilities. "How have you been feeling lately? I mean…nothing to put you into the hospital for?" He’d hoped that she would not be foolish enough to use some scumbag wannabe doctor to do an abortion.

Danni sat down on the couch and interlaced the fingers of her hands on her knee. "Now Matt, it’s just you and me here. Tell me what this is all about?"

"Mother seems to think that you are…or were…pregnant." He grimaced. "She even thinks that it was with twins, by Garrett of course."

Danni burst out laughing. "Me, pregnant?" She shook her head. "The woman is delusional, I’m still a virgin." The red blush started up her face with that statement.

"Well, you know Mother. It only takes one thing to get her going off on a tangent."

"And I bet that one thing was Brie."

"Well, Danni, you did give a few of us the idea."

"When, and how?" She was curious now more than angry.

"Let’s face it, Danni, you refused your wine at Christmas dinner, you took naps with Gunny and you were queasy when breakfast rolled around that next morning." He shrugged. "I even gave it a thought in the back of my mind."

"Why didn’t you just ask me? I would have told you."

"Hey, it was a holiday. Do I have to be a lawyer all the time?" They both chuckled at the thought.

"So why are you investigating this now?"

"Well, by Mother and Brie’s recollections, your phone conversations have been…" he cleared his throat, "rather explicit of what you and Garrett are doing in your time together."

"Huh?" Danni’s brow furrowed with concern. "I don’t understand. They asked me what was going on and I told them about our helicopter flights."

Matt tried hard not to laugh. "Well, do you remember telling Mother about you knowing how to watch out for ‘a spinning tail rotor’? Or that you and Garrett had been up and down so many times that it was taking up all your sleeping time?"

Danni put her face in her hands, embarrassed by what her mother had thought she was saying. "Oh, Mother!" The blonde blew out a long breath. "Okay, stop, I understand now." Then she looked up into Matt’s eyes. "But why does she think that I’m having twins?" Danni motioned toward her non-existent stomach full of twins.

"Mother said that she heard Garrett talking about not being able to wait until the twins would get here."

"Why would Garrett talk about twins? The only twins that we know of are Rene’s…" Danni stopped dead in her sentence. "Oh, good God. Mother heard Dr. Chabot talking about his twins. I bet that was the day that I thought I saw someone that reminded me of Mother at the hospital. That was the day that Gar lent him the Flight Suit." Danni shook her head in disbelief. "Okay, I can understand the twins now." She started to calm down.

"Don’t you think that it’s kind of funny?" Matt looked at her. "In an odd sort of way."

"Yes." They both lost it laughing at the misconception of the events in question. Only Mother would be able to pull that one off.

Danni thought for a moment and then decided to test the waters a little. "Matt, do you believe that every one has someone out there for them?"

"Gee, Sis, I sure hope so. Why, have you found your someone?"

"I think that I just might have."

He searched her face looking for some clue. "It’s Gar, isn’t it?"

Danni closed her eyes and nodded her head. She bit at her lip and then continued. "Matt, Garrett is a…"

"Hey, I’m home." The sound of the voice was all that Danni needed. She jumped up from the couch, moving toward the door and the figure that was coming in through it, setting down her duffel bag on the floor.

Grabbing the big hand in her small one, Danni pulled the lumbering surgeon over in the direction of her brother. "Matt, I’d like you to meet Garrett Trivoli. Gar, this is my brother, Matt." The blonde beamed with pride at the introduction of the two.

Caught off guard, Garrett offered her hand and smiled politely. "Hi, Matt. It’s nice to meet you." Her lopsided smile then came shining through as her eyes moved between the two. "Yeah, I can see the resemblance."

This last observation definitely broke the ice as Matt now returned the smile and stuck out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Dr. Trivoli."

"You can call me, Gar."

"Gar, then." He watched the change in his sister and knew what she was about to say when they had been interrupted. "So, you and my sister are…friends. I’m glad that someone is keeping an eye on her here in the big city." He winked and started to laugh. He liked the tall woman and decided that what he saw in his sister was nothing but pure love. A love like he had never seen her have before. Anything that could bring that to her was worth its weight in gold or at least his friendship.

The visit by Danni’s brother went on into the evening with food being ordered in and laughter shared among all three. The time spent learning about his sister and her friend was nice and he hated to leave but all good things must come to an end. With another firm handshake and a kiss from his older sister, Matt was out the door and on his way home.

At the first red light away from his sister’s house, Matt opened up his cell phone and hit the key for his mother’s phone. He waited the customary rings and then the answering machine picked up for the leaving of a message. At the sound of the beep, he started. "Mother, I’ve cleared up that situation with Danni. There will be no bastards for you to worry about since Danni was never really pregnant. I’ve talked at great length with Garrett and I’m assured that the surgeon has nothing but the best at heart for your daughter." He thought for a moment, then closed his cell phone, terminating the call.

"There you go Danni. That should give you some more time to reel that surgeon in." Matt smiled at the thought of his sister happy at last as he pulled away from the changing light.