Up in the Air

Chapter 7

Garrett didn’t know what to make of the mood that Danni had been in lately. They were still a team but something was missing. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. It was almost like a piece of the petite woman’s heart was taken away.

Ever since they had come back from the ski lodge, Danni seemed to be nothing but all business around the surgeon. Even Mom had noticed and commented to Garrett about it. The only thing that the surgeon knew was it all started with that overnight stay.

Often during the last three weeks, the dark-haired woman found herself just sitting there thinking of what she could have done or said that may have caused the change in Danni. Each time she was becoming more puzzled than the last. If only she could think of what it was, then perhaps she could correct it and they could once again have their comfortable friendship back.

Another thing that the surgeon was feeling baffled about was the pleasant attitude toward her by Dr. McCormick. It was the complete opposite of what she had expected, especially after that night at the ski lodge. Garrett wondered if perhaps there was something in the alcohol or food that Ian and Danni had partaken of. It was as if their attitudes had changed places toward her. The surgeon finally decided that she needed to talk to Cowboy and find out what happened in that room with Ian. Something had definitely changed him. Maybe if she could figure out what it was, it would give her some insight into Danni’s mood.

The tall surgeon rounded the corner just in time to see the pilot step out of his craft. The faint rays of the late February sun gave his metal boot tips a glimmer of reflected light. It was still cold but Cowboy refused to wear anything but his customary clothing, including the down ski vest with the insignia of the company on it. Garrett watched from the Trauma doors of the E.R. as he made his way into the hospital.

"Morning, Cowboy!"

"Morning to you, Doc. You know of a flight that I don’t?" He looked at her seriously for a minute then continued, "Or do you just need to talk?"

Garrett wet her lips, stalling for a moment then she closed her eyes, and sighed. "Talk is more like it." The woman looked around the busy hallway. "But not here. Do you have a minute or two?" Cowboy nodded. "Then let me buy you a cup of java. Come on." She motioned with her head for him to follow her as she moved down the hallway.

Cowboy had sensed that something was troubling Garrett and Danni both for the last week or so, maybe longer. He’d wanted to ask if he could help but chose wisely not too. The pilot had hoped that he was enough of a friend to the both of them that if they needed help or even just wanted to talk, they knew he’d be there for them.

Garrett opened the door to the E.R. Lounge and looked around the room. Nobody was there and the smell of fresh coffee filtered across the air. She crossed over to the large urn of liquid gold, the sustenance of the medical profession, coffee. The surgeon picked up the package of Styrofoam cups and offered one to the pilot. It was her way of making him feel at home. A lot was riding on this conversation and she didn’t want him thinking that she was going to interrogate the hell out of him.

With their cups of coffee in hand, each one stood quietly, sipping away and thinking until Cowboy finally started the conversation.

"Doc, something going on between you and that lil’ nurse?"

Garrett’s eyes flashed at him with an intensity of lightning bolts, her eyebrow raising almost into her hairline.

"I mean, stop me if I’m wrong, but you two just aren’t the same anymore. Like one of you is hurt or…I don’t know, but it’s just not right." He shook his head then sipped at his coffee some more. "I thought you two…" Cowboy stopped short, "well, it ain’t no business of mine either." His voice became a whisper.

Garrett looked him square in the eye, one military person to another. "What was it that you were going to say, Cowboy? Don’t try to spare my feelings, I’m looking for a reason for the uneasiness between Danni and myself. If you have any ideas, I want to hear them."

Cowboy knew the saying before it was even the directive in the military. Don’t ask and don’t tell. As long as the person did their job, it had never matter to him whom they chose to be friendly with. That was their business and none of his. In his mind, he was still that age-old enlisted man standing before an officer. It didn’t matter that they never served together or that they weren’t even in the same branch of the service. What did matter was that he respected her. "Doc, I really don’t think that what I was going to say had any real bearing on the matter at hand. At least, I don’t think so."

The surgeon sipped pensively at the hot liquid. "Damn! I’ve got to find out why things aren’t right. It’s like McCormick and Danni changed minds." She smirked, "At least where I’m concerned." She paused for a moment in thought. "You know, I really expected some wild tantrum from him up at the ski lodge when I gave you his suite key. Funny that nothing ever came out of that." She gave Cowboy a sidelong glance. "Or did it?"

"Whoa! Hold those horses right there. I stayed on my side of that huge bed and he did the same…er…I mean…he stayed on his side." Cowboy was adamant. "Jeez, Doc! Give me some credit for at least picking someone better looking than that bald pecker head. Besides, he ain’t my type, not enough curves in the right places." The pilot winked at her and used his hands to illustrate what he meant.

Garrett smiled at the concept that was left floating in her mind of Ian McCormick. "Pecker head, eh?" With that statement, they both chuckled at the thought. She was glad that he had not taken offense at her comment.

Cowboy tilted up his cup up to drain the last mouthful of coffee out of it. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he stepped over to the urn and poured himself another cup. "You know, Doc, I don’t think I even saw him. Heard him though, with all that snoring he was doing."

The surgeon thought about the last time that she had seen Ian on his way to the room that night. He’d walked in front of her and over to the elevators to the top floor where the suites were. "He didn’t seem that drunk, but come to think of it now, he did take a long time to push the button for the elevator and when he got in he did the same with the button for the floor."

Cowboy stirred his coffee. "I didn’t hear him come in. I hung that Flight suit over the back of a chair and crawled into bed. I must have fallen asleep right away. The last thing that I remembered was pulling those covers up over my head."

"Hmmm…interesting."

"Next thing I knew, it was morning. When I got up I remember looking at the bed and he was sound asleep, his clothes were draped over the foot of the bed."

"Can you think of anything else that happened?" Garrett was starting to see a definite misconception on Ian’s part; she just needed something to confirm her suspicion.

"Nope, I just did my morning ritual in the bathroom and came out, put my Flight suit on, then got my case and left."

"Did you say anything at all?" The surgeon watched his face. "Do anything that he could have…"

"Oh, shit! I left him a note with the room key on it." His eyes widened in realization of his actions. "I bet he thought it was from you."

"Why do you say that?" Her steely eyes grew in intensity.

"I…I didn’t sign it."

"What did it say, Cowboy?" She braced herself for the worst.

"I don’t remember off hand. Something about being thankful for the rest before I took off." His eyes flicked back and forth as he tried to remember. "Oh, God!" He looked her straight in the eye. "I wrote, Thanks for letting me rest before going off to new heights."

Garrett laughed. The puzzle of Ian’s attitude change was solved. "That’s why he’s been treating me that way. He was drunk, passed out and doesn’t remember anything but seeing that Flight suit and the note. He thinks we had one heck of a good time before I slipped out in the morning."

"What you going to do, tell him the truth?" The pilot took a long draw on his coffee.

"All in due time, Cowboy. But it will be when I need the advantage." She raised her cup to the pilot and winked. "Boy, is he going to be surprised."

The late February weather in Pittsburgh was anything but predictable. Between the cold, snow, and ice Garrett found herself with more time on her hands than she knew what to do with. Even on a day like this when they were grounded by the elements, she still couldn’t finagle her way into the O.R. as hard as she tried. She’d round with the Trauma teams, and check in on the patients that she had treated in the field. The rest of her day would either be spent in the medical library reading journals or just thinking.

It seemed that she did a lot of that lately, thinking. Sometimes it would be about her past, sometimes about her future. It didn’t seem to matter what she was thinking; Danni was always what she ended up with. The petite blonde nurse would pop up in Garrett’s thoughts in the most peculiar of times, but today, it was all that she could think about, period.

The talk with Cowboy earlier had helped her understand why Ian McCormick was going out of his way being nice to her. He thought that Garrett and he had something going, if only for that one night. The night that he had no recollection of at the ski lodge. She pondered that thought for a moment, realizing that at least one part of her puzzle was solved. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the part that she was the most concerned about.

Sitting in her small office, away from everyone else, the surgeon closed her eyes and tried to remember what had taken place that could be making such a difference in her young friend. They hadn’t quarreled or exchanged words of any kind. Well, except about where Danni would sleep that night. Garrett immediately shook her head. ‘Why would she be upset about sleeping in the bed?’ Then it dawned on her. Perhaps it was who she was going to be sleeping with that was the problem.

Garrett’s mind conjured up images of waking up with the small blonde draped across her body at first then quickly changed to the intimate posturing of their bodies that morning before the phone rang. The surgeon’s mind lingered on the spooning of her body with the petite blonde woman. She could still remember the warmth of their bodies as they were molded together and the scent of her friend from the very moment that her senses had stirred. The sweetness of that moment washed over her like a sun lit summer day and Garrett found herself sighing deeply, wishing that she were still there with her arm wrapped around the nurse.

‘Why would this time standout when we did nothing more than lay together?’

The surgeon let her mind delve deep into her past, when she had shared more than just lying together with another woman. It was hard to remember that nothing noteworthy from those shared experiments had registered in her memory when they had happened or now, when she tried to bring them back to life. The sensations that those unions had brought lasted only for the brief time when she had first felt them and nothing more. Even if she tried, she couldn’t remember their names. They were nothing more to her than a passing of time in her search for love. A love that had remained just out of her reach. That was until now.

The welcoming ways of the petite nurse had opened her mind if not her heart to the world around her. It was Danni that had given the stoic woman a sheltering home in the mist of her inner storm and helped her lay her demons to rest. The love of that friendship was more than she had ever had with another human outside of her family.

Garrett’s mind drifted once more to the blonde woman nestled in her arms, her tousled hair resting just under her nose. She inhaled trying to savor the scent of her. Then, without warning, the blonde hair was teasing someone else’s nose. The surgeon’s mind now flashed with images of Danni held in the arms of David as they moved slowly around the dance floor.

"That’s it! She wanted to be with him." Now, she had an idea about why the nurse was different towards her. Garrett thought about how many times she had seen the young woman put others before her own needs.

The surgeon snapped her large hand through the air in front of her and quickly grasped at some elusive idea, snagging it as she spoke the words, "I got you now." Her mind had just perceived that last piece of the puzzle and Garrett began to devise a plan to get Danni what she wanted.

She got up from her desk and headed for the door. "First stop, Rosie!"

The auburn-haired nurse came sweeping through the door at the main lobby. Rosie was always early for her shift and especially on a day like today with the temperature hovering around zero. She would need time to change and warm up before starting her shift.

Garrett had been waiting patiently in the gift shop, watching for the feisty nurse to pass by. The surgeon quickly put back the piece of giftware that she had been holding when Rosie came into sight just outside the glass that separated the lobby from the shop. Moving swiftly, the long legs of the surgeon soon caught up with the nurse.

"Hey, Rosie, can I buy you a cup of coffee to warm up?" Garrett slowed her pace to match, the nurse’s stride.

"Doc, you feeling okay?" Rosie eyed her cautiously then looked around for Danni. "Where’s she at?"

"Where’s who at?"

"Danni. You two are usually inseparable anymore." Rosie looked around but could not find the petite nurse anywhere. "Okay, what’s the joke? Where’s she hiding?"

Garrett stopped and reached out for Rosie’s arm, bringing her to a halt. "I need your help." The surgeon swallowed the lump in her throat then continued. "I want you to see if David could come here for a visit next weekend."

Now, Rosie didn’t know what to think. "You…interested in…David?" Her voice was hesitant but questioning.

"Not for me. I…I want to set things right with Danni. I thought that seeing David again could help."

Rosie chuckled. "So, you want to play Yenta…eh?" Then her head bobbed up and down. "Yeah, I’ll get David here." The thought of another chance for Danni and David sat well with her. "They make a cute couple, don’t you think?"

It wasn’t exactly what the surgeon wanted to think about but she did want her friend to be happy again. "Yeah, they do." The tone of Garrett’s voice was indicative of her thoughts as she mustered a weak smile, if only for show.

The next few days found Danni wishing that the unpredictable month of March would make its appearance soon. Whether it roared in as the Lion or gently emerged as the Lamb, didn’t matter to her as much as the passing of the time. It would mean that another month was over and the time left to the new Staff year was dwindling. In her heart she hadn’t wanted this year to pass, but now, she was finding it unbearable. The woman who had filled her heart with joy and hope had found a way to squash the life right out of her.

She was trying desperately not to show it, but the words spoken that morning at the ski lodge left a lasting impression on her tender heart. When Danni even thought of the raven-haired woman and her non-chalant manner of saying, I must have been dreaming. Honest, I didn’t mean anything by it…her heart felt as though it was breaking.

How could something that felt so right, not mean anything to the other person? There were times, even now, that Danni wanted to trust her heart but then the words echoed through it again. She didn’t mean anything by it only equated she didn’t love me and once again the nurse would busy herself with anything that she could find to stop her mind from thinking.

The mundane act of stocking supplies had always fallen on the aides in the E.R., but Danni needed something to have her mind focused on. She could hide in the supply room and not have to be reminded of Garrett Trivoli or the feelings of her own awakening sexuality.

It was during that last Tuesday in February, that she was beckoned out of the closet to the sound of a familiar voice on the telephone.

"Hello! Nurse Bossard speaking."

The smile on the other end was evident in the tone of the male voice. "Danni, how’s my favorite nurse?"

"David…is that you?" Her voice became softer and more relaxed.

"Yeah, it’s me. I’m going to be in Pittsburgh over the weekend. I was wondering if we could get together and do something say…on Friday night?"

"I’ll have to check with the rest of the bunch, but I know they’d all love to see you again." Her thoughts traveled to the rest of the E.R. family that he had been a part of.

"Oh…I…I was thinking that maybe we could do something together, you and I." There, he had finally managed to do it. He’d asked her out after all those years.

Danni was in shock. David had always been so shy around her and now he was asking her out. She smiled at the accomplishment of another one of her menagerie that had grown under her care and was now standing on his own. "David, I’m…I’m flattered but…"

"Come on, Danni, you name it, anything you want to do. Think about it and let me know. I won’t be leaving here until Friday at noon." The man paused to catch his breath. "I’ve been thinking a lot about you since the night up at Seven Springs. Just give me a chance, that’s all I’m asking for."

The nurse knew that her heart was already taken but she couldn’t let him know that now. Once again, Danni pushed her own feelings to the side and agreed to meet with him. "Okay, David. Let me see what I can come up with and I'll let you know on Friday morning."

"Okay, I’ll be waiting to hear from you." The excitement was evident in his voice. "Bye."

"Bye, David." Danni hung up the phone and stood there thinking. ‘Is it really fair to David when I know that my heart doesn’t feel for him like he would like it to?’ "It’s only a date."

"Date? Did I hear you saying date?" Mom turned the corner of the desk.

Sighing, Danni looked up to her and offered. "David, just asked me out on Friday night. Seems he is going to be in town for the weekend."

Karen looked around to make sure no one could hear their discussion. "Danni, I thought you had feelings for…"

"Mom, I don’t think Garrett is that kind of woman." Her eyes showed her hurt.

"Did something happen that I don’t know about?" She pulled the blonde down into a chair and sat next to her. "Talk to your Mom."

Danni hung her head in disbelief. Her own mother would have been jumping for joy if she knew about David. "We shared a room at the lodge that night."

"And?"

"Well, it was a king sized bed but we kept…a…meeting in the middle." Danni swallowed down a blush. "I…we…kind of woke up spooned together and her arm was wrapped around me."

"So, what’s wrong?"

"We didn’t say anything about it ‘cause the phone rang and well, Gar apologized for it. She said that she must have been dreaming and that it didn’t mean anything to her." Danni bit at her lip trying to quell the tears that were about to start.

Karen looked at her and brushed a lock of hair from Danni’s forehead like you would a little child. "Is that what has been the cause of your actions around her? You think that it didn’t mean anything to her?"

The young nurse sniffed back a tear. "Yeah." Danni nodded her head without looking up.

Mom wrapped her arm around Danni’s shoulders. "If you ask me, she was just trying to save you some embarrassment. I see how you both act around one another. Trust me, I think it matters a lot to her." Karen rubbed the blonde’s arm and then patted it gently. "Have you ever seen her not care about her patients?" Danni shook her head. "I bet she was only trying to take the blame to leave you off the hook."

"Really, Mom?" The nurse looked up with the glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Talk to her." Karen got up from the chair. "Don’t write her off until you find out. You owe her that much."

Danni nodded her head. ‘Could she have really tried to do that? Was she just shielding me from my own embarrassment?’ She looked over her shoulder at the retreating form of the Charge Nurse. "Thanks, Mom." Her words were soft and thoughtful. ‘I need to find Garrett and we need to sit down and talk.’

It would have been too easy to use the surgeon’s pager or her personal cell phone. What Danni had to talk about was not something that she wanted to discuss over the phone. She needed to see Garrett in person and register her reactions first hand. After all, her future…no, their future was riding on it.

It didn’t take long for the petite nurse to track Garrett down. There were only so many hiding places for a nearly six foot trauma surgeon, especially one that wasn’t allowed in the O.R. After a few phone calls, Danni made her way to the Medical Staff Library.

The raven-haired woman sat with her back to the far wall, her head bent over a large and dusty volume of some long forgotten medical book. She liked to know how things were done before all of the modern technology arrived.

‘Always looking for something to fall back on in times of disaster, aren’t you, Gar?’ Danni mused at the sight. She stood there watching the studious nature of the woman who had come to mean so much more to her than she could realize. The nurse wavered for a moment before she approached, not wanting to disturb her deep thoughts.

It wasn’t a moment longer before the blue eyes looked up and were filled with the blonde vision in front of her. The softness of the subtle smile that graced Danni’s face took all of the weeks of avoidance away. ‘I wondered if it was because of David that her attitude had changed.’ If so, then she was glad for it. The surgeon loved seeing her friend happy and whatever it was that made her that way, she was prepared to do it.

Danni smiled, "Hey!"

The gentle word and smile was more of a greeting to Garrett then any she had ever received. ‘I could come home to that everyday.’ The surgeon closed the book and pushed it away. "Hey, yourself."

There was a renewed closeness that overtook them both. The world around them slowly vanished while only the essence of their beings remained. Each one willing to let their being melt, losing themselves only to find the other.

Slowly the noise of ruffling pages and the muted cough of another seeker of knowledge brought them back to reality.

Garrett let her eyes drift in the direction of the coughing then back to her friend. "Come on, I’m done reading for a while." She slid her chair back and got up, put the book under her arm. "Care for something to drink?"

"Not really." Danni shook her head. ‘It’s now or never. Come on, Danni girl, give her a chance.’ Gar, I think that we need to talk."

The surgeon held her finger to her own mouth in a hushing motion. Then made her way to the desk at the front of the room. Handing the book over to the librarian, Garrett looked back to see if the petite woman was following, then walked out the door.

"We can talk better out here." The tall woman held the door open for her friend. "Librarian’s don’t enjoy conversation as much as you do."

Danni glanced back at the staunch-looking woman behind the desk. "I guess not." She turned to look back at the surgeon.

"So, what is it that you want to talk about?"

Danni bit at her lip, "Gar, could we go somewhere else besides a hallway to talk?"

"Okay," she shrugged her shoulders, "Is the cafeteria alright with you?" The surgeon turned to start walking towards the elevators but the gentle tug on her sleeve stopped her. Looking back at the pleading green eyes, Garrett’s eyebrow rose in question.

"Maybe somewhere a little more private. Your office, perhaps."

Garrett nodded slightly and reflexively reached into her pocket for the keys. ‘What is she going to say that needs to be so private?’ Flashes of David and Danni dancing at the lodge invaded her mind. They were twirling around the dance floor much like the figurines on top of a wedding cake. Garrett suddenly felt weak-kneed at the thought.

"Gar, you alright?" Danni’s hand went out to steady the surgeon. "You look a little pale."

"Yeah…I…I’m fine." Garrett’s voice became stronger. "My office then." She motioned with her hands to follow her down the hall. "I’m not sure if anybody else is using it. Let’s have a look." ‘Come on, Gar, get a hold of yourself. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. She deserves to be happy and in love.’

Stopping at the door, Garrett inserted the key and opened it. To Danni’s relief, the room was dark and without any human inhabitants. Now, came the hard part, where to start the conversation. The nurse closed the door after herself and got comfortable on the only other chair in the room, while the surgeon sat across the desk from her, trying not to fidget. The silence in the room was louder than a summer thunderstorm, each one dreading what the conversation could bring about.

Finally Danni rallied enough strength to show her cards. Whether she would win the pot of gold or come away the empty-handed one was dependent on the woman seated across from her. ‘By the gods, let me say this the right way without making her repulsed by it.’ The petite woman gritted her teeth and slowly started. "Gar, there’s something that I have to say about me and…"

That was all she could get out before the sound of the Flight Team pagers drowned out her voice. The cacophony of tones sliced through the air in the small room with a nerve-racking sound, interrupting anything that was within earshot of them.

The surgeon winced at the noise on her sensitive ears as she grabbed for her pager to silence it. She pressed the button and listened to the voice page.

"Dr. Trivoli and Nurse Bossard please call the Command Desk by phone."

They looked at each other for a second, each one questioning the reason for the page. Garrett reached for the phone on her desk and made the call. She listened intently to the message that was relayed to her, then hung up.

"What?" Danni was interested in where they were off to next. "Where are we headed to?"

"McMurray’s office." The surgeon’s voice sounded ominous. "He wants us there for some kind of meeting."

Danni’s brow wrinkled with thought. "When?"

Garrett got up and headed for the door. "Now! You coming?"

"Right behind you, Gar." She rose and followed the surgeon. All thoughts of her needing to talk were pushed back to the far corners of her mind for another time.

The Ol’ Cutter hung up the phone and thought about the proposal that had been presented to him. He loved the idea of getting recognition for the services that his staff provided but found himself being a little more than concerned with how a particular staff member would take it, namely, one Dr. Garrett Trivoli. There were some areas of that Fellow he just could not quite put his finger on. He thought about the effect that the other member of the Flight Team, Nurse Bossard, had on the surgeon and was glad that she would be a part of this, too. Perhaps she could help.

‘Trivoli has a long career ahead of her, it might as well start now. She’s going to have to learn to accept the honors that go along with it.’ The swivel of his chair allowed him to shift from his desk to the large expanse of windows behind him. It always helped to calm his nerves to look out at the city he called home. With a little luck, he might even be able to persuade another talented surgeon to call it home, too. If only there was something that could anchor her in this port. His mind drifted off to his wife and how his own anchoring had brought him the needed satisfaction in his life that he had only dreamed of in his younger days. He sat, staring out the window, lost in his own memories.

After a pleasant smile and greeting, McMurray’s secretary ushered Garrett and Danni into his office. Her only words to the man behind the desk were both businesslike and polite. "Dr. McMurray, the Flight Team is here to see you." The older woman motioned for them to go in and then left, closing the door after her.

Each one stood just inside the door and looked around the office until their gazes met with each other’s. The absence of the man from their view and the silence that surrounded them only added to the suspense as to why they were here in the first place. Shrugging to each other, they then turned their attention back toward the desk in time to see movement as the chair swiveled back to face the room.

The contemplative look on his face gave them no clue as to why they had been summoned. Garrett searched her mind for any reason that could have brought them here. All of their flights had been without problems and she knew that Ian had never realized the switch that she had pulled on him. She resigned herself to the fact that she had no clue.

McMurray stopped his chair as it came into his favorite position at the desk. He leaned forward to rest his arms on the desktop and greeted them. "Nurse Bossard, Dr Trivoli! I’m glad that you could come so quickly when I paged."

"That’s part of our job sir, a quick response to any call." Garrett raised her eyebrow as if to challenge her mentor for the reason that they were summoned.

"Gar!" The word was only a whisper but Danni knew that her friend heard it. The swift glance in her direction by the tall woman confirmed it.

"Ease up, Trivoli. You would think that I called you in on the carpet for something or other. Nothing of the kind." He rose slightly and motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, will you?"

Danni rolled her eyes and thanked every god that she could think of. "Thanks, Dr. McMurray." Nudging her team member to do the same.

The eyebrow receded to its normal position. "Sir." Garrett tipped her head to him, remembering her military days and stifling the salute that she had grown accustomed to.

The women sat down, positioning themselves attentively, waiting for the man in front of them to continue.

The Ol’ Cutter eyed his guests and let the corners of his mouth turn upward in a smile. "Relax, ladies. It’s nothing bad. In fact, it’s something very good for both of your careers."

The Fellow eyed McMurray suspiciously. She’d been pushed into more things in the last eight months for her career by this man then she cared to think about. What was she going to have to do now?

Garrett felt the gentle touch of the small hand on her arm. It acted better than any drug she could have taken. Her anxiety seemed to fade as she let her eyes take the gesture into view. ‘Well, maybe not everything in this Fellowship year was bad.’

"I’m sorry, but you’ve got us at a loss." Danni tried to take the attention away from her friend. She flashed a smile first at Garrett then to the man behind the desk. "What is it?"

‘Teamwork, that’s what makes them so good together. Each one looking out for the other.’ "The Board of Directors would like you to honor them with you presence at the Dinner they are hosting on Friday evening." He looked at the women, hoping for some kind of response. "I know that there’s not much time between now and then but they’d like you there all the same."

Danni was the one looking concerned now. "This Friday? I already have a date…" She trailed off on the last word, sensing that Garrett was a little more attentive now, noticing that the surgeon’s head had turned toward her on that revelation. ‘I can’t believe I said that.’

"Good! Then you’ll have an escort. Bring your date along." He winked in approval. "Anyone we know Nurse Bossard?" McMurray turned a wayward eye to the tall surgeon. He noticed that her eyes were a little larger than normal as she digested that last exchange.

Danni, on the other hand, was trying to repress the first signs of a blush. ‘Why did I ever agree to that date? It could have been just me sitting side by side at that dinner with Garrett.’ "I think so. It’s Dr. Beckman. You remember David, don’t you?"

"Yes, last year’s Chief Resident, " The sound of a muted snort came from the tall surgeon as she listened. "Fine man and a promising surgeon." The Ol’ Cutter nodded. "I thought he was somewhere in West Virginia."

"He is. David is just going to be in town for the weekend and wanted us to get together."

Garrett lost the conversation at that point. It was all her doing and she now felt like it was going to backfire on her. ‘Beckman…at least she won’t have to change any of her monogrammed items.’ Her thoughts of sounding out Danni’s name with his came to a crashing halt when she realized that both sets of eyes were staring at her, waiting for an answer. "What?" She replied as her eyebrow shot up.

"Gar, Dr. McMurray just wanted to know if you’d be bringing someone. An escort maybe?" Her hand slid over to pat the surgeon’s, trying to comfort her from the startled look she possessed.

"Ah…escort? I…I guess I could find one." Her eyes darted from side to side as she thought. "It’s short notice…"

"Well, see what you can come up with. Oh, and Dr. Trivoli…" he paused waiting for her full attention. "I wouldn’t raid the School of Medicine’s Cadaver Lab. That style of escort didn’t go over very big the last time it was tried."

"Danni wrinkled her nose and imagined the sight. "Ewe!" ‘Yeah, like there aren’t guys standing in line that would take her out.’ The nurse’s mind flashed with the thought of lines of cold, stiff, embalmed bodies hanging by tongs waiting in the cold room of the Medical School for their turn to fall into the skilled dissectionist’s hands. The petite woman’s hand raked through her hair as she tried to shake the image out of her mind. ‘Change the subject, Danni. NOW!!!’

"No, sir. Wouldn’t think of it." ‘I wouldn’t have put it past him to have tried that.’ Garrett tried to make light of the situation.

Straining to clear her voice, Danni began to speak. "So…uhm…is this formal or what?"

McMurray chuckled. "No, no tuxedos or gowns." He scratched his cheek. "Suits and whatever is appropriate these days for you women." His eyes wondered over to the tall surgeon in front of him. "No, designer original scrub clothing, Trivoli. You hear?"

The woman nodded her head while Danni giggled behind her cupped hand until the lone eyeball made its appearance at the corner of Garrett’s eye.

"Now, get going…I’ll see you on Friday night."

The team got up and headed for the door. When they were just about ready to pass through the open doorway, the Ol’ Cutter swung around in his chair and yelled out a closing remark. "Trivoli! You’d better have something else on your arm other than that Flight Suit when you walk through that door at 7 o’clock."

Garrett stopped short at the sound of his voice. Upon hearing it cease, she muttered under her breath, "Damn!" and closed the door.

The remainder of the week leading up to the dinner was spent in training exercises in the weather sanctioned downtime and running on Flights when the weather permitted. In times of need, they even found themselves filling in for regular Flight Crews when the need arose do to illness of the crewmembers.

It was Friday morning and the blustery arrival of March had come in like a Lion the day before. The young nurse had already made her call to David and informed him of the Dinner and the need for him to bring a suit with him on his weekend trip. He graciously accepted the invitation to escort Danni. Now, all she had to do was decide on something to wear herself.

She pondered what to wear. She didn’t want to give David any wrong impression but she did so what to make Garrett take notice of her. It was a hard decision but she finally chose the dark green suit that always made her eyes stand out. ‘Now, if that doesn’t do it, I don’t know what will.’ She laid the clothing out on her bed in preparation of later that evening.

Garrett ran through the narrowing list of escorts as she sat sipping coffee in the Doctor’s Lounge outside of the O.R. It was as close as she was allowed to come to her forbidden ground without breaking her promise. Her body just tingled with life when she was in there. She turned her eyes back to the inhabitants of the room. All that was left in here today was the gangly medical school students as they regrouped before heading off to their rounds. She eyed them all disapprovingly considering the need to possibly change a few of their diapers during the course of the evening. Time was running out and so were her options.

She went to the bank of phones on the one wall and pulled out the yellow pages, turning the pages to cast a wary eye to the listing of "Escorts" but then changed her mind. ‘Now that is getting too damn desperate.’ She closed the book and pushed it away. ‘It would be so simple if David wasn’t here.’ She closed her eyes and cursed herself for doing what she had thought was in the best interest of her small friend. She went back to the leather couch and slowly sipped her cup of coffee.

The room was almost empty when Garrett noticed the telltale weight of someone on the couch sitting opposite her end. She opened one lone orb and caste a watchful eye in that direction. ‘Who would be so bold as to sit next to Garrett Trivoli?’ She should have known. ‘Ian!’ She hurriedly closed her eyes feigning sleep.

Sensing that the Chief of the E.R. wanted to speak privately to the slumbering Doctor, a lone medical student quickly gathered his handful of papers and stuffed them into his pocket as he rose from the small table against the wall. His rushed greeting was met with a scornful eye as McCormick had a way of leering at the students, making them shake in their shoes. Today was no different and soon the room was empty, accept for himself and the beautiful woman.

Garrett knew that she’d have to talk to him sooner or later and chose to let him stew for just a few moments more. At the first stirring of her eyelashes, Ian shifted his position and faced her more fully.

‘Well, time to get this over with.’ The Fellow turned her glance in his direction. "Y-e-s?" She drew the word out as her eyebrow edged upward.

The bald man laughed nervously. "Let’s cut the crap, Trivoli. We’re adults and from that little tryst at Seven Springs I can say that we both know when to keep our mouths shut." He eyed her approvingly.

"You could say that." She smiled coyly, images of Cowboy and Ian sharing the same bed flashed briefly through her head.

"I figure that the two of use could attend this Dinner tonight and no one would have to be the wiser. I understand that you haven’t given them the name of your escort yet for the place cards." He chuckled under his breath. "A busy woman like you doesn’t have time to meet a lot of people. I rented a limo and we could just walk in together. Do the mingle-mingle game then after the awards, split. What do you say?"

Garrett thought for a moment. ‘Hmmm…It would be an escort. I could talk Danni into doubling with us in the limo and that way I wouldn’t have to amputate Ian’s hands for something he’d try to do if we were alone.’ The twinkle in her blue eyes grew as the physician setting next to her watched in silence. ‘Besides, that way I could keep an eye on David. I mean…just in case. Hey, didn’t every girl’s mother teach you that there was safety in numbers?’ Her throaty chuckle teased at McCormick’s imagination of what the night was to bring. "Sure, what time can I expect you?"

The man swallowed hard then smiled in delight. "I’ll pick you up about six-thirty." He made a little growling noise then winked and got up to leave just as the door to the room opened. He turned his back to her and left. The surgeon found herself smirking at his sense of sexual prowess and shook her head as she rolled her eyes. ‘Now, to talk Danni into doubling.’

*************

They had both driven in today. Danni being Danni, knew that she would need more time to get ready for the Dinner date with David than Garrett would ever imagine taking. She had already showered, shaved her legs, and even plucked a wayward eyebrow hair before she sat down on her bed to paint her nails. The shade of opalescent pearl was chosen and she began to shake the bottle in preparation.

The sound of someone entering the house and walking through the first floor was evident as Danni stopped what she was doing to yell out a greeting. "Gar, I’m up here in the bedroom." She continued with her ritual as she waited for the woman to ascend the steps. Seeing the raven hair shifting in through the door, Danni smiled. "Hey!"

"Hey," the surgeon looked around the room at the clothing that had been laid out. "What time is David coming?"

"He said that he’d be here a little before 1830." The military time was something that she had picked up from Garrett.

Garrett nodded her head. "Good! Then we can all leave together in the limo." Her words were nonchalant as she worked them into the conversation.

The petite woman stopped what she was doing. "Limo? I don’t remember anything about a limo."

Garrett feigned smacking her forehead with her hand. "I must have forgotten to tell you. They are sending a limo with a Staff member in it to pick us up. It’ll be here about 1830." Garrett looked at the nurse trying to decide if she was buying the explanation or not. Then she began reasoning what she had said in her head. ‘What’s one little white lie going to hurt? Besides, it is a white limo.’

"Well, yeah, I guess we could do that." Danni was feeling better about the evening already. She’d have her date with David and still be in the company of one tall, raven-haired woman. Then she said with more conviction than she needed to. "I’m sure that David won’t mind." ‘I know that I sure won’t.’

Garrett breathed easier. It was all set and done. Now all she had to do was get ready before they came. She looked down at her watch as she made her way to her room across the hall. It was 1740. ‘Just enough time.’

The tall woman stood at her sparse closet of civilian clothing. "Hmm…now, what to wear."

************

David stood waiting at the door. He’d already rung the bell once and was just about to do it again when the sound of the dead bolt lock could be heard. He stood up straighter, letting his shoulders shift into a more confident appearance while the truth was that he was really scared to hell. All during his Residency at the hospital he had dreamed of this day, the day that he would take Danni out. He wet his lips and swallowed realizing that his dream was just moments away and on the other side of that door.

When the door was finally opened, a tall, dark-haired woman met him. Her statuesque form was covered by a dark pinstriped pantsuit that was classic in nature. The open style of the jacket allowed him to see the draping of the silk blouse over her well-proportioned body. Her blue eyes met with his as she stepped back to allow him to enter. "David, I presume?" Her voice was edged in sarcasm and her eyebrow rose in challenge to the man.

"Yes," he nodded. "I’m here for Danni." His eyes drifted into the room trying to see if his date was anywhere around.

"Come on in. Let me introduce myself. I’m…"

"Garrett Trivoli. I remember you. You’re the one that I handed off to on my last day in Residency." He smiled.

"Make yourself comfortable, Danni should be down any minute." Garrett led the way into the living room. "Did Danni tell you that we will all be going together? They’re sending a limo for us." ‘Top that one, will you.’

"No, she didn’t." He seemed a bit disappointed.

There was a brief moment of silence before the sound of someone descending the stairs was heard and all eyes shifted in that direction. Garrett watched the petite nurse move slowly down the steps as she made her grand entrance into the room. David stood; his eyes glued to her every move.

"I thought that I heard the door. David, it’s so good to see you again." She crossed the room and took his hand in hers. "I take it that Garrett has introduced herself to you."

"Yes, she has." He smiled nervously, like a boy on his first date.

"Well, the limo should be here any minute. Danni, do you have your Flight Gear in the bag?" Garrett walked over to her duffel that was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, but I left it upstairs by my bed." She turned to get it.

The surgeon held up her hand to stop her young friend. "You have company, I’ll get it." ‘Get me away from him, now. Man, he’s nothing more than a boy with a crush on her.’

David looked at Garrett then at Danni. "You’re flying tonight?"

"Well, yes. The weather is fine and we’re not grounded. If they need us, we’ll go." She watched his expression turn sullen at the thought. "We’re the only Flight Surgeon Team, David. It’s not like we can refuse."

He nodded in understanding as he watched Garrett come back down the steps with Danni’s bag of gear in hand.

Garrett could see the gleaming white limo as it pulled up at the curb. "I think our ride is here." She picked up her duffel and headed for the door.

Danni started for her bag but David reached it first, refusing to give it up as they went out the door.

Garrett stood at the curb, waiting for the door to the limo to be opened for her. The driver came around the vehicle and, with a flare of eloquence opened the door to usher her inside.

Ian McCormick sat on the far side of the leather seat, a smile etched across his face as he saw the tall woman climb inside and take a seat. "You look lovely this evening, Dr. Trivoli." The beads of perspiration already were appearing on his forehead.

"Why thank you, Doctor." She settled her bag on the floor and herself in the curbside seat. "I hope you don’t mind but I thought that we could all go together." She motioned to Danni and David as they closed the door to the house and started for the limo.

Ian looked out the window, eyeing the young couple coming his way. ‘What will it hurt. We can always drop the kids off on the way back home and have some fun of our own after the dinner.’ "Sure, why not?" It wasn’t what he had in mind initially but this way, he knew that they would make it to the dinner for sure.

‘Okay, that was easy enough.’ The raven-haired surgeon watched as David helped her friend into the vehicle, mindful of exactly where he was putting his hands the entire time.

*****************

It was amazing what could be done with the medical staff dining room at the hospital. If they hadn’t come in through the lobby, they never would have guessed that this was the same room. The decorations and floral pieces all added to the illusion of some grand ballroom.

Finding their table, Danni and Garrett stowed their bags underneath, hidden from sight by the long tablecloths. The pre-dinner mingling was already underway when they had arrived, and they joined in, graciously passing on the cocktails.

Although they went their separate ways around the room full of Board members and dignitaries, Danni never lost sight of her tall friend. It was all that she could do to keep her mind on the conversations that were going on around her as David greeted colleagues and old friends alike. The few times that she was called upon to speak, she felt out of place. ‘So this is what it’s like to be on someone’s arm." She thought of her sister Brie and how she had always glowed at parties of this nature. ‘I don’t know how you do it, Brie.’

The conversation was stimulating with its talk of new procedures and techniques as the group of surgeons exchanged ideas. Garrett was more absorbed in keeping an eye on her petite friend as she watched David move from group to group, with Danni at his side. It seemed odd to be separated from Danni. The surgeon felt as though there was something missing. It was funny how in a room full of people that one could feel so all alone.

With the announcement of Dinner, the guests all took their seats. Garrett sat next to Ian while Danni sat across the table with David at her side.

The exchange of small talk had been centered on Garrett and Danni’s summons to court in the next week. Ian, of course, showing his concern for the members of his E.R. staff.

"Which side summoned you?" McCormick waited for an answer.

"I believe the prosecution. The summons mentioned something about material witnesses." Garrett offered the information.

David shook his head. Seeing the action, Danni wondered what he was thinking. "What’s wrong, David? You don’t seem too enthused with that fact."

"I’ve had some bad experience with the defense counsel in a case like that."

"How so?" Ian’s interest was piqued.

"They almost made me sound like I wanted the patient to have been raped." He shrugged. "It just was a little nerve racking."

Garrett eyed the man across from her. The mention of rape from David’s mouth made her neck hairs tingle and stand on edge.

"Well, there shouldn’t be any problems with you in that respect." Ian laughed as he admired the woman next to him. "What interest would you have in that woman but as a patient?"

Garrett shook her head. "Never know what some people will do to get their client’s off. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens on Tuesday when we have to appear in court."

"Well, I’ll feel better when it’s over." The nurse was obviously not looking forward to the trial. "What do you say we change…"

Her words stopped in mid sentence as the vibration of the pager on her waistband startled her. Reaching down, she unclipped it and looked at he message that was displayed across the viewing area. The side ways glance to her tall companion showed Garrett bringing her cell phone out, as she started to punch in the numbers.

"Excuse me." Garrett slid her chair back from the table. Her eyes flashed with interest as the voice on the other end relayed the message. It didn’t take long before she was done. The cell phone being slipped back into her pocket. "I’m sorry, but we’re needed." With that she got up from the chair, her duffel in hand. "Cowboy will be picking us up in five minutes on the helipad."

Danni already had her bag in her hand. "Sorry, David." She excused herself from the table and followed Garrett out of the room.

************

After a hasty change in the restroom, they stowed their clothing in Garrett’s office and made their way to the helipad where Cowboy was just touching down. Giving them the sign for a hot load, he eagerly awaited their arrival onboard the craft.

Once belted into their seats, Garrett relayed the all information that she knew to Danni.

"They have someone pinned up in the railway yards north of the city. They don’t think that there is much hope for the man’s survival but they want us to come take a look."

Danni closed her eyes and nodded. She knew by the sound of it that it could be much worse than she could imagine. It was then that she started her task of doing the pre-flight checks. Within minutes, the ‘thumb’s up’ sign for take-off was given and the pilot began their journey upward.

****************

The train yards below them were a mess of red lights and emergency equipment positioned around the two railroad cars. From their approach overhead, they could tell that the bustle of activity was all directed to the space between the two cars where the man was supposedly pinned. Within minutes they would be on the ground and making their way to see what they could do, but for now, all they could do was watch.

Touch down had been uneventful, and soon the surgeon and nurse found themselves being escorted to the patient. Traveling through the lines of rescue workers, they could see the growing look of despair on the faces as they got closer to the source of everyone’s concern. The last line of human bodies opened, revealing the grizzly scene.

Garrett and Danni had been filled in on the situation as they were brought across the yard to the patient. He’d been checking the cars when one had broken loose and trapped him. The coupling had penetrated his body and locked itself into position with the other car before he could get out of the way. Now he stood in that same position for the last hour as railroad employees and rescue workers alike put their minds together to save him.

There, before them, was a man living on borrowed time. His body obviously trapped between the massive metal coupling devices that are used to hold the cars together in a line. It was like some surreal scene out of a horror movie.

The man stood living and breathing but grossly in pain. His frantic eyes sweeping from one rescuer to another as he prayed for another chance at life. It wasn’t long before those piercing eyes fell on the tall surgeon and the nurse.

Sensing the almost hopelessness of the scene, Danni reached out for the man’s hand. Her gentle touch acted like a tranquilizer on his nerves.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" Her eyes conveyed her concern, more for his mental well being than anything else. "My name is Danni, I’m a nurse. This is Dr. Trivoli." She motioned to the tall woman next to her.

Even through his pain, the man tried to find humor in the situation. "Bet you never saw nothing like this before, eh Doc?" His forehead creased with each new wave of pain.

"Not exactly." Garrett’s tone was serious. "How’s the pain?"

"What do you think, Doc. It ain’t everyday that you have two railroad cars coupled through your belly." His weak attempt at a smile quickly turned to a grimace.

The surgeon surveyed the man’s body, her mind contemplating any possible chance of helping him. "Danni, give him 2mg. of morphine." She turned her attention back to the man for a moment then went to talk to the man in charge of the scene.

"What’s a nice girl like you doing here?"

Danni smiled as she readied her drug for injection. "Just out for a ride and thought that I’d stop in."

"You sound like my wife." He grimaced again. "I know that it doesn’t look good for me. I just want to see her again. Sounds stupid, huh?"

"No, not at all." Danni slipped the syringe into the I.V. line. "This is going to make you feel a little better. Take the edge off of that pain."

"They said that my wife was on the way. I don’t want to be out when she gets here." He looked nervously at the syringe. "If I’m…" He paused trying to muster the courage to say his thoughts. "…Gone before she gets here. Will you tell her that I love her?"

Danni’s heart felt like it would break as she listened to his plea. "Don’t worry, she’ll be here soon. You’ll tell her yourself." Danni patted his hand. "I’ll be right back." She moved away from the man and sought out the tall surgeon.

"Doc, there ain’t nothing we can do. When that coupling comes apart he’s going to bleed out. We thought that maybe you could…" The rescue worker looked hopeful.

Garrett looked back to the patient. Sighing deeply, she thought about the possibilities. Even with a full team of surgeons in the O.R., there would be a very slim chance to save the man. The disruption of organs and the involvement of the spine alone would be debilitating enough to render his quality of life to a very low level if indeed he would survive. It would just be a matter of time now. When that coupling was undone, the life would flow out of him within a few minutes and his body would be at its final rest.

The only thing that she could possibly do for the man was keep him comfortable and fulfill any last wishes that he may have.

"Gar, can you do anything for him?" Danni’s eyes looked for comfort in the pools of blue. The desolation in the surgeon’s eyes was all she needed to see. "I see." The nurse looked up at the rescuer in charge. "He said that his wife was on the way. Is she here yet?"

"The police went to get her from her job. They should be here any minute."

"Then what?" Danni pushed for an answer.

Garrett bit at her lip, disgusted that she could do nothing for him. "Then when he’s ready, they uncouple the cars."

The blonde nurse looked puzzled. "Uncouple the cars, how do they do that?" She looked back over to the man. "Can’t we do something then?"

Garrett looked back over to the trapped man. The priest that had been called to hear his last confession had just arrived. "He needs a few minutes of privacy. Follow me."

The tall surgeon took off across the railroad yard to the pair of railroad cars that stood off in the distance. Her long strides made short work of stepping over the numerous sets of tracks as she quickly reached her destination. Danni scurried to keep up. Her much shorter legs lifted higher to clear the 6-inch metal rails soon began to tire, as the walk resembled more a step aerobic workout.

Finally arriving at their destination, Danni showed signs of being slightly winded. The heaving of her chest was noticeable to Garrett. "Why didn’t you tell me I was going too fast?"

"What, and make you think that I can’t keep up with you? Never!" The corners of her mouth turned upward as she sucked in another round of breath. "Now show me this coupling thing."

Garrett moved between the two uncoupled cars and Danni followed right along.

"See how the metal is shaped like a hook?" Danni nodded. "Now follow me to the other car. You’ll see that the hook is just the opposite. They slide into one another and mesh together in the middle, locking them together."

"Then when it went through him…"

"It caught everything in the middle and pinched it off." Garrett’s brow furrowed. "That’s what I was talking to the Scene Commander about. The liaison for the railroad was kind enough to explain it to me."

The nurse moved even closer to see the menacing coupling. Her petite frame next to the boxcar made her look even shorter than normal with the coupling’s height being just about the area of her heart. The mechanism amazed her and caused her to lose all concept of the world around her. Bending over, she tried to study it from the underside, twisting and turning around several times. ‘By the gods, I bet that there’s nothing left to his vertebrae but splinters.’ Danni’s mind brought vivid images of the man’s anatomy and the trauma that had occurred to his internal organs. She shivered in response.

Suddenly Danni could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as the idea of knowing that this would be the day of your death over powered her. She closed her eyes against their sting as the first tear rolled down over her cheek. A wave of fear washed over her as she thought of what the man was going through. The nurse stole a look at her tall, raven-haired friend and imagined herself in that same position as a giant lump came to her throat. Brushing the tears off her face, Danni forced her mind to concentrate on the coupling device. Maybe, just maybe, something would come to her mind to help save the man.

The tall woman stood back and watched her for a moment, amused at the intrigue of her curious team member. ‘I wonder how she would act if I let her into the O.R. for one of my operations?’ Garrett shook her head and turned to lean up against the other boxcar. The surgeon looked back across the yard at the gathering crowd of onlookers and rescuers alike. Her center of attention now focused on the scene of the entrapped man and the priest.

Danni was having a hard time understanding the locking device. ‘Maybe if I can understand how it goes together, I could figure out some way to help.’ She stood now in front of the claw-like device on the car closest to her. Something seemed to elude her but she just couldn’t think of what it was. ‘Maybe if I eye them up in line…" Danni turned and stood with her head at coupling level, trying to see how it would connect and spring into action. She turned back to the closer coupling and studied it intently.

The noise of the yard was resuming as the trains in the other parts of the yard were being moved and rotated into the lines of cars that were needed to carry the freight to their destinations. The sound of squeaky wheels and groans of the rails as the engines passed over them brought images of the travel that Garrett had taken to get here to Pittsburgh from San Francisco. The ride had been so soothing for her, and the scenery magnificent. If she closed her eyes right now, she could feel the constant jiggle in her body and hear the slow sounding clickity-clack that both started and stopped any rail journey. It was enough to lull her into dreaming of taking more rides by train in the near future.

The moment of quiet contemplation was suddenly thrown out the window with the jolting push her body felt and the sound of metal snapping into metal. The surgeon was thrown out of her comfortable position and found herself headed for the ground. Remembering where she was, her first thought was that of the safety of her friend. Blue eyes opened to see Danni still squatting in front of the coupling device and staring at it.

Garrett could feel the boxcar pushing her forward as she fell. There was no time to call out. Instead, she lunged forward, stretching her body to it’s full potential with her arms outstretched, fingers grabbing for the Flight Suit of the nurse.

"Hey! What the…" Danni’s body was being pushed forward and pulled down all at the same time. She didn’t know what to think but to go with the flow of force to keep from getting injured trying to fight it.

Thud! Humph!

Within seconds, the petite woman was laying on the ties with the tracks off to either side of her, the sound of metal clashing with metal coming from directly over her head. Wide green eyes stared at the action above her as the coupling latched itself together with a thunderous clap.

It took a few seconds for Garrett to catch her breath. The fall had knocked the wind out of her. Drawing in air to expand her lungs, she held on tightly to the smaller form next to her.

"Dan…" she tried to talk, "you okay?" The sting of the air expanding her lungs burned as it entered her chest.

Danni took only a moment to take stock of her body, and then she answered. "Yeah, everything seems to be okay. How about you?"

The surgeon’s breathing was becoming easier. "Okay, now. Got the wind knocked out of me, I must have landed wrong." Must have, you know that you did, otherwise you couldn’t have pulled her out of the way.’

The thought of what could have transpired shot through Garrett’s mind like a bolt of lightning. She hastily closed her eyes then opened them trying to get a fix on the blonde hair that could have been separated from its body, had things happened differently. She looked over at Danni’s face, never gladder to see it than at this very moment.

The boxcars had stopped moving and the noise had quieted when the pair of baggy pant-covered legs came into Danni’s view.

"Hey! You people want to get hurt or something? You can’t lay down in the middle of the tracks like that." The railroad worker stood on the side of the tracks. He had gotten off the engine to check the coupling before the boxcars were led to there place in line.

The women slowly crawled out from under the connection and began dusting their clothing off as they stood next to the worker.

"What the hell were you two doing, trying to commit suicide?" His voice was now becoming more agitated.

"I wanted to know how the coupling worked." Danni spoke as she dusted off her pants. His eyes glared at her. "Don’t worry, I understand how it works now, you won’t have to do it again." She smiled politely as she raised her hands, declining any further need for a demonstration.

Garrett came up angry. Her temper was quick to spark at the cause of the near fiasco. "Don’t you people look before you just go and try to kill someone?" She rose from her knees to her full height, towering almost a foot above the man’s head. "No wonder you have a man trapped over there."

She looked over to the scene of the entrapment. The frantic waving of arms was like a message in Morris Code to her, spelling nothing but trouble. "Danni, we’re needed." Her hand reached out to tap the blonde on the shoulder, then she was gone.

The railroad worker stood dumbfounded as he watched the two women make their way across the yard to where they were being beckoned.

The surgeon and the nurse sped across the open yard and began pushing through the throng of rescuers, spurred on by the rush of adrenaline that they had going from the near accident of their own.

The Paramedic that was with the entrapped man met them. "Hey Doc!" He waved them over to himself. "He’s in a heap of pain. My protocols won’t allow me to give him anything else."

Garrett nodded in understanding. "He’s going to need more to keep the pain to a bearable level." She could tell that the Medic’s nerves were wearing thin with the magnitude of the situation. "You better go distance yourself for a while." She could see the tension growing in his face.

"But I…" the medic started to protest until Garrett’s steely-colored eyes relieved him of his duty.

"We’ll take over from here." The authority in her voice over powered him and he turned and walked off into the crowd.

Danni sniffed back a tear and nodded. "I’ll stay with him until his wife gets here."

"Dan, if you think he needs anything, just give it. He doesn’t need to experience any pain."

Garrett kept her silent vigil as the man’s wife was soon brought through the crowd. The surgeon could do nothing to help the man and quickly explained this to his wife, making her well aware of the serious nature of the accident. The grief-stricken face of the woman was tugging at her heart as she watched the tender scene unfold before her very eyes.

The surgeon was amazed at the concern her patient had for the welfare of his wife. It was as if what happened to him was of no importance. She didn’t understand the man’s concern at all. His feelings seemed foreign to her. Most patients fought to cling to life, placing all emphasis on themselves and their goal to survive. She never anticipated a love beyond one’s self by such a common and seemingly uneducated man as this.

Danni left the man’s side when his wife arrived, affording them the privacy that they needed to convey their last sentiments. It made her think of her own life and brought home the importance of not waiting until it was too late to tell people that they mattered. The nurse could feel the sting of the tears as they ran down her cheeks. It was too emotional of a scene for her tender heart to take.

After several minutes, the young wife was escorted away and the railroad employees readied to uncouple the cars.

The patient’s last words were to his rescuers, thanking them for trying to help him. He had commended them on their valiant effort and at the same time apologized for the cruel hand that fate had dealt them. At the end of his small speech, he nodded to his fellow worker that he was ready.

The sound of metal scraping on metal grated on one’s nerves. The signal was given and the engine pulled the car away from the other. The life drained out of his face as the final realization set into his soul. These were the last visions he would see of this world. It was over in no time, the pool of blood soaking into the ground underneath his lifeless body.

Garrett Trivoli knelt on one side of the patient as Danni clung to his hand willing that he would feel her spirit until the end. The surgeon bent down and closed his eyelids. She looked down at her watch then spoke the words for those around to hear. "Time of death, 2037."

There was nothing more for the Flight Team to do now but go home.

The ride back to the hospital was spent in quiet as each of the crewmembers thought about events of the last hour or so. It was funny how death had a way of making you think. The fact that someone could be living one minute then lifeless the next was a heavy concept for anyone to accept. The Flight Surgeon’s Team was no exception.

Danni couldn’t get the words of the dying man out of her head. The words that he had entrusted to her wove a web of confusion inside her head as it haunted her every thought. Here she was debating whether to tell someone that she thought she loved them, and there he had been, adamant about making sure his loved one knew it was the last thing on his mind. The nurse was thankful for the dark of the night, as the tears began to fall down her face. It was all that she could do to keep from letting the rest of the crew know how much this had touched her.

The surgeon had seen death come from many sources. Her experiences had taught her that life was a fleeting thing and death a matter of permanence. It wasn’t often that a death would effect her, but this one did. The fact that she could do nothing to even try to preserve that man’s life was the hardest thing for her to accept. Garrett knew that they had done all that they could in making the man comfortable and staying with him until the end. Death was something you just learned to accept in the profession she was in, but it didn’t mean that you had to like it.

*************

Their arrival back on the helipad was met with no fanfare or waiting crowd of caregivers eager to lend a hand. The fluorescent lighting of the area cast a stark illumination of their shadows on the pavement, creating an eerie black and white portrait of life that welcomed them home. Each member slowly making their way into the safety of the building carried a little more insight into the frailty of the human being than when they had left.

Garrett had kept a watchful eye on Danni. She had been the one most involved with their patient from beginning to end. Her gentle and compassionate nature left her vulnerable and the surgeon knew it. The noticeable shedding of tears during the flight home worried the surgeon. She cared too much about her friend to see her consumed by guilt over something that she had absolutely no control of.

"Danni, do you want to talk about it?" The surgeon asked as they stood outside of the door to the E.R.

"Talk about what, Gar? It’s not like we were able to do anything."

The surgeon nodded her head. She knew the nurse was right.

"I don’t much feel like going back to that dinner. Do you?" The blonde looked up to her friend. "It just doesn’t seem right to be having fun now."

Garrett let out a long sigh. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

They continued through the doorway and after a few steps, Garrett had made her mind up. "Danni, let’s go back to the dinner." ‘She needs to be with someone…someone she loves…David… after what she’s gone through. Poor kid, I can’t blame her for it. She needs to be with someone she loves tonight.’ Garrett looked down at her watch. It was 2105. "Dinner will be over by now." The surgeon knew of her friend’s insatiable hunger.

"I know, but I think our dates at least need to be the ones to take us home. Besides," she smirked, "it will make them…"

Garrett’s head sprung up. "Date? I never said that McCormick was my…"

"Gar, nobody else was picked up with a limo." Danni teased her friend. ‘Think you could pull the wool over my eyes, do you.’ "Don’t worry Gar, I’m good at keeping secrets." ‘I even have a few of my own.’

The surgeon eyed the nurse suspiciously. ‘She thinks I’m having an affair with…’ her eyebrow arched high. ‘How could she think that idiot could turn me on…Why, I don’t even know what turns me on.’

Danni saw her friend’s face and tried to comfort her. "It’s okay. What you do outside the hospital shouldn’t make a difference." ‘I just wish it were me instead of Ian.’ "We might as well get back to the guys in our Flight Suits. I know that my other clothing will be pretty wrinkled by now."

"Yeah, let’s… just get this night over with."

*************

The sound of a single voice was heard as Garrett and Danni stood outside the opened door to the room. Inside they could see the rows of dinner guests all sitting in their seats, attentive to the words that they were hearing. They weren’t quite sure what the speech was about but knew that it was leading to an introduction of some type. Finally, the announcement of the person was made and the sound of applauding soon filled the area.

"Gar, come on. We can sneak in now. Now one will notice us." Danni nudged the tall woman into the doorway.

"Okay, but be quiet. I don’t want to attract any attention."

The two women stealthily moved into the room as they made their way towards the table where they had left David and Ian.

The applauding continued for a moment until the man made his way to the podium in the front of the room. There, he turned to greet the Chairman of the Board of Directors and waved pleasantly toward the attendees of the dinner. The man had the charisma of a leader and it showed. His good looks and pleasant voice held the attention of the crowd. He had chosen his career well. His witty rhetoric suited him as a politician. The speech hinted at self-sacrifice and caring for people even when it meant danger to one’s own life.

Danni and Garrett were more interested in getting to their table than listening to the usual ‘pat the caregiver on the back’ speeches by the endless line of politicians that would do anything for a vote. They didn’t really feel much like caregivers tonight, any way.

The polite clapping starting at the tables around them drew Danni’s attention to the front of the room. She watched as Dr. McMurray walked over to the man and shook his hand. "Hey, Gar," she whispered as she tugged at the surgeon’s arm. "It’s McMurray!"

The tall woman looked up to see her mentor positioning himself at the podium to speak. She watched the Ol’ Cutter as he looked over the crowd of familiar faces. "He must be getting some kind of award."

"Maybe that’s why he asked us to come." Danni kept her voice low as not to draw attention. She looked up to the podium and found the Chief of Trauma Services looking straight back at her. It was at that exact moment that she heard both her and Garrett’s name being called out over the speakers. For a moment, she knew what it felt like to be a deer caught standing in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. They were only a few feet away from their seats. Maybe if they’d just sit down nobody would notice their late arrival or their clothing.

Now, the sound of that polite clapping was starting all over again and the sound of David’s voice could be heard. "Way to go Danni!"

Garrett turned to stare at David with her eyebrow arched high on her forehead. That’s when she could see Ian motioning them to go to the front of the room. "What?" she mouthed.

"Go up and get your award." McCormick whispered as he rose, his hands spent in clapping. "That’s why you’re here."

Danni and Garrett turned to each other. The look on their faces questioning the other and answering at the same time. "No!"

"Dr. Trivoli, Nurse Bossard, please come forward." McMurray was now commanding them. Then, while they obeyed, he talked briefly into the microphone. "I’m glad we waited for last. As you’ll be able to tell, these dedicated woman just got back from a flight." He chuckled. "They wouldn’t let me ground them for the night. They thought that it would be unfair if someone really needed them."

Danni and Garrett stepped up onto the raised area around the podium. The sound of applause covered the short conversation that McMurray held with the tall surgeon before he went back to the podium.

"Thought I told you to have something else on besides that suit." Her mentor teased.

"If you’d like, I could go and change right now."

McMurray smiled at the raven-haired woman. "You’re not getting off that easy. You both deserve this." McMurray reached out and shook first his Fellow’s hand and then the nurse’s. "Great teamwork, great team."

Danni held onto his hand. "Sir, what’s this all about?"

"Just a little thank you from the Lt. Governor for that road worker you saved. You know, the one when you were supposed to be grounded."

The blonde wrinkled her nose, as she tried not to giggle nervously, "Oh, that one."

Garrett took the lead at the podium, as she did in the Trauma Room with Danni by her side. Her strong presence brought a hush over the room. It was a difficult time for her, accepting an honor for saving one man while only an hour ago losing another. Her mind raced with thoughts of deep emotions but she knew that was not what was needed here at this place and time. Instead, she just stated the facts. "We were just doing our jobs. It’s what we’ve dedicated our lives to. Thank you." Then, she stepped back from the microphone as she looked to the woman standing next to her.

Danni stepped forward and reached to adjust the microphone to her height. First looking out over the crowd, then to her team member she began to speak. "What Dr. Trivoli has stated is true." She cleared her throat as she thought. "We…ah…we learn a lot from the different patients that we treat. Tonight’s patient taught us a very important lesson. He taught us that life is not worth living unless you can put the welfare of others over that of your own. He taught us that love is something to hold dear and to let that be your last thought when you finally are called to leave this world."

The hushed silence of the audience was immeasurable. All eyes were riveted to the petite blonde at the podium as their minds let the words sink in. It took only a few seconds for the realization of her words to illicit the horrified results, mostly from those not of the medical profession, each one thankful that they did not have to deal with situations like that in their daily work. The stunned faces needed no words to explain how they felt. It only made them think how truly precarious life was.

The moisture accumulated in Danni’s eyes until a small tear rolled slowly down her cheek. Brushing it back with her hand, she continued. "He knew how precious life and love can be. It was his last wish to hold the love of his life one last time. It is now, my wish for all of you. Thank you."

Danni stepped back from the podium, politely smiled, and shook the hand of the politician. With the polite clapping of the audience in the background, she felt the gentle touch on her shoulder and saw the hand of the surgeon resting on it. The growing level of hand clapping was beginning to burst into an occasional whoop or holler from an over-zealous advocate of what she had just said. It seemed to be catching on, as each person wanted to show their acceptance of her wish for one and all alike.

"You alright?" Garrett’s blue eyes were full of concern.

"Yeah, I’ll…I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute." ‘By the gods, I need a hug so bad right now. Gar, I need you.’

The normally stoic surgeon was touched by her friend’s emotional expression in response to the award. The pain and love that had been stated in such a moving speech touched Garrett in a way that she couldn’t quite understand. Something inside of her had stirred during it, and now she was having an insatiable urge to wrap her arms around the petite woman and never let go.

Garrett looked out into the now-standing crowd as she tried to figure her emotions out. Through the rows of tables, David was making his way to come up to where they were. Before she had a chance, Danni was lost in the whirlwind that was David while resentful blue eyes took note.

***************

They left the dinner shortly after the speeches were concluded. Garrett could still see the image of Danni with David wrapped around her. She had thought that the security of his arms would help to ease that pained look from her face, but it didn’t. Instead, it had almost made it worse and that bothered the Fellow.

‘He didn’t do anything wrong, but why can’t I get used to the idea of Danni being with David?’ Garrett stared up at the ceiling of her room. This friendship thing was starting to really make her wonder about where it was she exactly fit into Danni’s life. And now, with David in the picture, the surgeon felt a need to reach out to the nurse, more than ever.

The surgeon rolled over in her bed. The events of the night were doing nothing to ease her body into a restful sleep. Finally, she just wrote it all off to experience and forced her body to drift off into the realms of Morpheus.

*************

Though the woman loved to sleep, Danni could not find rest easy this night. Her mind was consumed by thoughts of David and Garrett, both. One loved her and the other was the one that she loved. It made her feel like a child caught in a lie. She could be David’s friend but she needed more than friendship from Garrett. She couldn’t fool herself any more than Garrett had with that lame limo excuse. How could she tell her now, that she loved her? It was obvious to anybody that Garrett preferred men. Besides, all that it could do is drive the woman even further away then she was now.

Trying to rid her mind of the thought of Garrett in someone’s arms other than her own, Danni repositioned her body, rolling onto her side and grabbing her pillow. Nestling down into that mound of fluff, new thoughts rose into her head. She could hear the words as clear as if they were being said right now. It was the scene from earlier that night. The trapped man worried that his wife would not know of his profound love for her.

She turned over quickly as if that would rid her mind of his torture. Instead, it followed her, proclaiming even louder his wish. ‘Tell her I love her.’ She closed her eyes begging for sleep to overtake her but the words only brought about the look on his face as he uttered them knowing he was about to die.

Bolting upright, she breathed heavily trying to calm her haunted heart. She had seen the face of death before, why was this one so disturbing to her? Her job had given her plenty of exposure to tragedy. Was it because for once in her life, she finally felt close to someone? Finally realizing what it would be like to lose that connection and never letting them know what they had meant to you.

Danni threw back the covers that seemed to be suffocating her now. She couldn’t stay here alone with only her thoughts around her. They were just too agonizing. She needed room and fresh air to breathe.

Having felt the urging of her bladder for relief, Garrett climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Still half asleep, she thought that she heard the muffled sounds of crying as she made her way down the hall, stopping by Danni’s door to listen. There were no sounds emanating from the room and she continued on her way.

Whether it was the shock of the cold seat on her body or the sound of the running water, her senses were coming to life. There, she heard that noise again, the muffled sound of tears. Her ears strained to detect were it was coming from as she held her breath. There it was again. Garrett’s mind flashed with images of Danni, hurt or alone. With hastening footsteps, the tall woman followed the sound.

Halfway down the stairs, Garrett could see the tightly rolled ball of human that was her friend. There, on the couch, in a fetal position, was Danni. Her emotions had withstood the storm but surrendered to its aftermath like most rescuers.

The slow, rocking motion of the nurse tugged at the surgeon’s heart. It was a sign associated with wanting and needing comfort of an emotional sort. The soft whimpers coming from the woman were as heart rendering as those of a puppy being crated for the first time.

Garrett closed her eyes against the pain that was being displayed before her. Being a healer, she knew that only time, understanding and the love of family and friends would help. She resumed her path leading to the woman so desperate for understanding.

"Danni…" Garrett’s voice was barely above a whisper, but there was no response. The surgeon reached out to stroke the wildly arrayed blonde hair and spoke her name once more. "Danni."

The motion of her head was into the hand that touched her while her green eyes lifted to meet those of blue. Danni couldn’t believe that her prayers had been answered that quickly. It seemed like only a moment or two ago that she had prayed for love to come and find her. Now, suddenly, here was the woman whom she loved standing before her. She blinked back an irate tear as she willed her hands to wipe dry her swollen eyes. "Gar!" The word was more of a sigh then anything. "I didn’t wake you, did I?" The nurse sniffed as she wiped her hands against her nightgown.

"No, I needed to use the bathroom. That’s when I heard you down here."

"Oh!"

"Danni, how about I give David a call to come over. You need someone…"

Danni shook her head. "David doesn’t understand."

"Then talk to him." Garrett sat down beside the nurse. "I can see that he loves you." ‘He better love you!’ "Give him a chance to…"

"Gar, he’s just…" Danni was reduced to tears once more.

The surgeon walked over to the hall stand and took the portable phone from its cradle. "What’s David’s number? I’m calling him." ‘I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.’ She walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Please, Gar. Don’t call David, he’ll only think I’m foolish." Danni let the lie rattle over her hollowed heart while her mind screamed out her true feelings for only her to hear. ‘You! You’re the love that I’m waiting for. Can’t you see that? What do I have to do to make you realize that its you?’ Her pleading eyes darted to Garrett, their puffy redness looking more like anger than despair. "I really don’t want him to know what I’m feeling right now. I’m not sure anyone would understand what I’m feeling."

The surgeon wrapped her arm around the small frame of the woman and pulled her in close. Letting her cheek rest on top of the blonde’s head, she lightly patted Danni’s leg. "Alright then, but only if you get some rest."

‘Okay, David. You had your chance and you blew it.’ Garrett could feel her level of annoyance rise when she thought of someone not being able to understand her friend. ‘How can anyone not understand what a kind and loving person this woman is? Why, I can feel the warmth and tenderness of her even now while I’m just touching her.’

The warmth of the nurse had started to invade her heart even before she ever came in contact with her. Garrett thought back to their first meeting in the Trauma Room. Danni’s warmth had shown then, without knowing who the surgeon really was. Soon all of the times that they had encountered one another seemed to hold some kind of memory for the often thought of cold and demanding Dr. Trivoli. Garrett wondered if now it wasn’t this woman who was the one demanding more of her heart then the surgeon knew ever existed. ‘Perhaps I need to be thinking more about this than being angered with David.’

Danni thought for a moment then nodded her head, slowly allowing her body to resume a more humanly formed structure. In doing so, she felt the brush of Garrett’s face across her hair and the gentle planting of a kiss. Her body trembled with excitement as the strength of the surgeon’s arms flexed against her body making her feel the warmth of their embrace.

Danni let out a slow sigh as she tried to imagine what it would feel like to be held in a lover’s arms. What it would feel like to be loved by someone that could hold her heart captive for all of eternity. Right now it looked like she’d never be able to find out.

She remained seated like that until Garrett’s words brought her back to reality.

"Come on, let’s get you up to bed."

The low whispered words were like an elixir to her soul. Danni felt herself being helped from the couch and headed for the stairs. With each step they took together, it was as if they had been down this path before. Somewhere in time or in some other place, but she knew that it had been this way. It was like coming home after a long absence.

Garrett guided her precious cargo with the utmost of care as they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs. Her soothing voice helping to steady the nurse as they approached the door to her room. Stopping only long enough to remove the obstacle from their path, Garrett sidled through the doorway and over to the empty bed, helping to keep the momentum of the young woman from slowing.

Holding on to her friend with one hand, she reached to pick up the covers and waited for Danni to lay down. As soon as she had, Garrett pulled them up and tucked them neatly back into place. The surgeon ruffled the short blonde hair and bent down to kiss the woman like one would a child.

Danni felt the touch of the moist lips on her forehead and reached like a drowning woman for the lifeline that had been thrown to her. The nurse’s small hand clung to the arm of the surgeon. "Gar, don’t go."

"Danni you need your sleep."

The petite woman was glad for the dimly lit room. The light from the hall would not give her longing eyes away as she stared up at the woman she loved. "I don’t want to be alone tonight. Stay here with me."

"I…"

"I think that if you just hold me…" Danni could feel the bed shift as the weight of the surgeon sank down into the mattress. "I’ll fall asleep."

Garrett slid under the covers. She could feel the change of the body next to hers as the petite woman snuggled in close. With her arms tightly holding Danni in place, both spirits came to rest in a night that had brought them both accolades and sorrow, but most of all had brought them where they needed to be, together.