Cowboy sat in the cockpit waiting for the arrival of the rest of his team. He watched the seconds tick by on his wristwatch until they would get there. He’d learned it early on, when there was an appointed time to be met; Garrett Trivoli was one punctual lady. The minute clicked over to 0859 and the seconds began ticking away. When exactly 30 seconds had gone by, the pilot let his eyes gaze over to the door at the rear of the emergency room that lead directly to the Trauma Rooms. Within the blink of his eye, there emerged the tall surgeon and her petite nurse, each sporting their flight gear and carrying a small bag with their necessary clothing for the night. A smile came to his lips with the sound of the rear door opening. Cowboy glanced down at his watch. ‘Yep, right on time.’ It was 0900.

"Morning, ladies. I trust you had a good night’s sleep."

Danni became self-conscious now of her appearance. ‘Was it that noticeable that she had trouble sleeping?’ The poor girl’s mind had been full of thoughts of an anticipated night sharing a room with the tall surgeon, reeking havoc with her sleep. The nurse sighed and climbed on board. She could feel the beginnings of the flush that slowly crept up from her chest into the base of her neck and struggled to keep them at bay.

"Thanks for the tip about spending the night." Garrett reached out and cupped Cowboy’s shoulder.

"Huh?" He turned to look back at the woman, puzzlement written on his face. "I didn’t…we’re staying over night?"

"Yeah, I figured that it was you that suggested it to McMurray."

"Sorry, Doc, it wasn’t me. All that I suggested was that we move the departure time up so that we could get back before the storm front was anywhere close."

Now the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together. "I guess it’s his way of rewarding us."

"Doesn’t matter where we are, Doc, once that storm hits we’ll be grounded. I guess he figured why have you stuck at home when all of your friends are going to be up there."

Garrett began to feel bad that Cowboy was not warned in advance of the overnight stay. "I’d feel better if he’d have warned you, too."

"Hey, don’t worry about it, Doc. The women will go wild for the uniform." He tugged at the material of his flight suit. "Besides, I’m an old ‘Nam vet, we always have an extra pair of socks with us." He winked and patted her arm. "Now get on board so we can take off, will you?"

The woman nodded and complied with his request.

Danni could hear the muffled voices of the surgeon and pilot, but she had things on her mind that was distracting enough. Now, she tried to busy herself with the routine of checking their equipment before the flight. She looked over to see Garrett entering the door and then closing it making sure that the lock was engaged. ‘Okay, Danni, you’re a professional…try to act like one. There’s a whole day to get through before you have to worry about the sleeping arrangements.’

The surgeon buckled herself into her seat and donned her helmet, adjusting the strap to keep it on. "What’s left to check?"

Danni focused her mind. "Just the items that are in the drug bag and the intubation kit." ‘There, you can do it. Just like any other day.’

Garrett nodded and quickly began the drill of checking the bags. When it was over, she looked up to see Danni watching her intently. "Something wrong, Danni?"

"Ah…no…ah I was just…waiting for you to get done." Then as if to cover her motives she hastily flashed the "thumbs up" sign and spoke to the pilot. "All accounted for and ready for lift off, Cowboy." To which the surgeon agreed giving her "thumbs up."

The pilot returned the signal then started his routine for flight departure and within moments they were up in the air.

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

The progression of the landscape below them had changed drastically, long gone were the tall building of the metropolis that had stretched out into the areas of suburban homes. Now, underneath them could be seen the sparsely placed farms with their rolled hay randomly strewn about the fields like dots on a page and churches, where pointed steeples reached upward towards the heavens. It seemed so peaceful out here in the country where distance was measured as the crow flies instead of city blocks.

Garrett settled back in her seat, her gaze still lingering on the passing countryside. ‘One thing that I can say about this job, I’d never have this view in a windowless operating theater.’ Her head turned, taking in first the pilot and then the form of her team member. ‘Or even good friends to share them with.’ The surgeon watched the petite woman for a moment before she turned her vision back towards her own window. ‘I’m glad that we’re going to have a little down time. Danni’s sure been acting funny here lately.’ The tall woman found herself shrugging her shoulders. "I guess she needs more than just me around…I don’t know why."

There was silence for a few moments before the soft sound of Danni’s voice came across the headphones. "Gar, do you know how to ski?"

The surgeon smiled as memories of weekend skiing trips with her family flooded her mind. "Ski?" Garrett nodded her head. "I’m not any Olympic caliber skier but yeah, I can ski." She looked over to the petite nurse. "I haven’t been on a pair of skis in years. Why do you ask?"

The young woman squinted, wrinkling up her nose in the process. "I was hoping that maybe…well, I’m not very good…"

"You want a few lessons?"

The nurse nodded. "Even if you could just teach me how to stay on my feet, that would help." ‘Just hold me and don’t let go, that would be sufficient.’

Garrett’s grin widened. "Sure, no problem. It’ll help me get back in the groove of things, anyway."

Danni struggled with her emotions. She could feel the temperature rising. ‘Thank the gods, its cold out there.’ The young woman’s mind was endlessly adrift in a sea of nameless faces, all with outstretched arms and resembling the tall, raven-haired woman seated next to her.

***********

The threat of bad weather did nothing to keep the avid skiers away. Danni shook her head at the amount of people that were waiting in line for the chair lifts to the top of the ski runs. The young nurse stood waiting patiently for her private instructor outside of the rustic ski lodge as she watched the snowflakes glistening in the air around her. Casting a wayward eye to the heavens, she noted the heavy gray storm clouds in the northwestern sky. The heavier snow would be coming and soon.

Danni’s always-empty stomach sensed the smells of the outside grill. The wafted aromas that were so inviting to her nose, that she fought to resist the temptation for a taste of their wares. Trying to get her mind off the food, she started looking at the people around her. Danni felt a little out of place still in her leather jacket and flight suit. It seemed the populace of the resort opted for the more fashionable and colorful trends in nylon and down. ‘Well, there’s only just so much room when packing for a helicopter.’

The petite nurse turned back to the ski lodge, watching the door for any sign of her tall friend. ‘Can’t say that I’ll miss her. She looks just about as out of place as I do.’ Danni chuckled to herself, as she thought of them in their matched set of Flight suits and jackets. As the chuckling trailed off, the corners of Danni’s mouth edged ever upward. Coming through the doorway, her arms filled with skis, poles, and boots was Garrett. The nurse waved her arms in an attempt to be seen. It didn’t take long before the women locked eyes as they closed the distance between them. It was like a homing beacon that cut through both time and distance, welcoming the other into safe harbor.

"So, you ready for this?" Garrett tossed her head from side to side, motioning to the array of equipment in her arms.

Danni nodded her head while her voice trembled out a weak, "No," after which she found herself giggling as a wave of nervousness came over her.

She hid her face from Garrett as she peaked out her open fingers. ‘I can’t believe I’m this nervous.’

Garrett shook her head. "Come on, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m not that tough of an instructor that you need to hide." Shifting the equipment in her arms, she used her right index finger to cross her heart and then held the hand up in a mock oath. "Honest, I swear. I don’t bite, not even a little."

"Gee, and I was hoping for some nips here and there." The words were barely above a whisper as they came from the blonde’s mouth.

"What’s that you said?" There was the gentle sound of laughter on her voice as her eyebrow slowly crept upward. The woman felt like a kid again, free and laughing easily with the friend standing before her.

Danni was caught dumbfounded. ‘Ah…what can I say…’ Her eyes rolled around as they grew bigger. "Tips, I was hoping you could give me some tips…about skiing." The lone bead of perspiration started to roll down her forehead. ‘Why do I even try to whisper around her?’

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

It was almost 1100 hours when the first sign of any E.R. personnel, other than those who arrived by helicopter, were seen. The small troop of nylon garbed caregivers slowly made their way out of the lodge. The bustle of their pent up excitement was evident by the rapid banter and cackling that emitted from the group. Rosie, of course, being the loudest and in the lead while Mom dawdled along at the rear.

"Come on, Mom, it will be dark before we get a run or two in at the pace that you’re at." Rosie’s sharp comment was meant to hasten, not degrade the older woman.

"Yeah, well, just remember if I fall it’ll be you that’s gonna pick me up." Karen shuffled her feet a little faster in response. "I don’t see why we can’t put the darn skis on now instead of up on the top. It would give me a lot more stabilization in this crushed down snow. Go ahead and laugh, young lady. I want to see you when you’re my age."

"Come on, Granny, you want me to hold your hand?" Rosie stopped and took several steps in Karen’s direction only to be shooed off with the older woman’s gesturing hands.

"All right then, but don’t say that I didn’t offer." The sassy nurse did an about face and headed back to the group who had now paused trying to decide on which ski run to challenge first.

The sound of skis cutting across the packed snow was what first came to the attention of Karen. Lifting her head to make sure that she was not in anybody’s way, she spotted the tandem figures slowly coming towards her. With the utmost grace, the taller skier shifted her feet as her body turned slightly to the right, her weight now leaning to that side as she came to a stop, the snow spraying in her wake. The tall woman smiled, "Hi, Mom!" then digging her poles into the packed snow, Garrett turned to watch the progress her young protégé was making.

Only a few yards behind was a miniature figure clad in the same outfit, the skis and poles proportional in size to her body. The closer she came to them, the easier it was to see her tensed lips and slightly rigid body looking uncomfortable in the slightly seated, flexed knee position.

The surgeon watched with great concern, mumbling encouragements under her breath until she knew that her friend was within earshot. "Okay, now shift! Lean back with your weight." Garrett held her breath. "You can do it." Danni was only a few feet away now and sliding into a stop right in front of her tall friend.

The beaming smile on the petite nurse’s face was priceless as she realized that she was finally getting the hang of stopping. It had been an elusive adventure up until now. She was usually too fast or making her turn too sharp to be able to get everything to happen at the same time without ending up headed off in some new direction that was not of her choosing. In fact, Danni was so excited, she almost forgot to shift her body weight back into a standing position to keep from falling. Trying to correct it at the very last moment, the nurse could feel the strong grasp of her team member on the arm of her leather jacket helping to bring her up to the needed position.

"I did it…I stopped." The over exuberant woman was laughing as she spoke. "Mom, did you see? I didn’t fall down."

"Yes, seems like you have a better teacher this year." Karen looked over to the surgeon. "Great job, Doc."

"Hmmm…I don’t know, she’s not a Jean Claude Kyle by any means." Garrett chuckled. "But I guess she’ll pass." The tall woman pulled down her wraparound sunglasses and winked.

"Hey, Danni, where’d you learn to ski?" Rosie called over to her. "Is that part of being on the Flight Surgeon’s team?" She smirked, "I guess you got to be able to use all sorts of ways get to where you want to be," then wiggled her eyebrows.

Danni’s eyes shot over to Mom’s, only to see the older woman looking back at her seriously and shaking her head. ‘Mom, you didn’t? Then how does she know?’

Garrett noticed the concern in Danni’s face. "Come on, Dan, she’s just jealous." She waited a moment until the nurse’s face showed signs of relief. "What do you say we get out of the cold for a while…maybe go inside by the fire and get something to eat before we have to do our presentation for the ski patrol?" The surgeon began to get out of her skis and picked them up, holding them tightly under her one arm while she grabbed at the poles with the other.

"Yeah, I’m getting a little cold out here now." The nurse rubbed her arms with her gloved hands. "Maybe some hot chocolate would help defrost my frozen bones."" Danni bent over to release her bindings and shoulder her skis, the tiny poles dangling from her wrists by the straps attached to them.

"Hey, Danni, you might want to keep an eye out for some of the others who are coming up. I think you might enjoy seeing one in particular." Rosie was being coy as she taunted her fellow nurse. She knew whom it was that she had invited explicitly for the purpose of giving Danni something to think about. The sassy nurse waved, and together with her group, headed for the chairlifts.

"Mom?" The word was drawn out as Danni looked sternly at the woman.

Shaking her head, Karen feigned all knowledge of anything that Rosie had arranged. "I have no idea, Danni, honest." She shrugged and started off after the rest of the group calling out to them as she walked. "Hey, wait up for the old lady."

**********

The snow had been coming down more heavily by the time the presentation was over. It had been a good one with many of the ski patrol interested in exactly when the use of the Flight Surgeon Team would be warranted.

Danni turned in search of their pilot when she was met by a cold biting wind as it swept down off the mountain. The leather jacket kept her upper torso and arms from the stinging cold but the Gore-Tex material of the flight suit was no match for it. "Brrrrrrr!" She quickly turned with her back to the wind. The nurse grabbed for the door of the helicopter, opened it and climbed inside. "Jeez! Is it cold!" She was thankful for the shelter out of the wind.

Looking around as she tried to warm her body by rubbing it, she saw the drawn look of the pilot as he was studying his charts. "Hey, Cowboy! We going to be able to go home or what?" Her eyes were hopeful as she waited for his reply.

Cowboy rubbed his chin with his right hand as he thought for a moment. "Don’t rightly think that would be a good thing to do now. The wind’s a little more than I would like to be flying in. Talk about some turbulence now," he chuckled, "we’d be like a dandelion seed cast out on the warm summer air."

"Guess we’re spending the night then, aren’t we?"

"Yep, looks that way."

A chill swept through the inside of the helicopter as the door opened and a tall form climbed in. "Whew! That’s a little cold out there." The surgeon settled into her customary seat. "Stuck for the night, aren’t we?" She posed her question to her teammates.

The nurse and the pilot slowly nodded their heads while their faces turned into beaming smiles at the prospective of being down for the night. Within seconds the giggling started as Danni reached for her small bag of clothing and Garrett grabbed her duffel. They looked up to the pilot.

"Hey, I told you I always have extra socks. What do you think I carry in that flight case?" He laughed as he pointed to the large bag that was to carry all of his maps and navigational tools. "I don’t need much room for a map of the Tri-state area. Got to keep them from bouncing around somehow. You ever try reading off of a dog-eared page?"

Garrett shook her head at the antics of the pilot. "Only you, Cowboy, only you."

"Well, I for one vote that we get out of these Flight suits and relax a little, what do you say?" The young nurse was feeling excited. "I wonder if any of the people from work are staying over. I know that some of them did last year."

"Speaking of staying over, I think we better go and see about getting some rooms." The surgeon patted her zippered pocket holding her wallet. "Never leave home without one." She unzipped the pocket and pulled out her ever-present credit card. "I’ll take care of the rooms." Garrett winked and threw open the door, heading for the main lodge.

"Hey! Wait up for me." Danni was scrambling out the door.

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

The late hour and the weather conditions on the mountain had sealed their fate, just like most of the skiers there. The best that Garrett was able to muster even with the corporate clout of the hospital and the medivac company behind her, was a single room for the night. The harried desk clerk had apologized but there was nothing more that he could offer to them, aside from sleeping in the halls or lounges warmed by the ever-glowing wood stacked fireplaces of the resort.

The surgeon looked down at the single set of keys that she held in her hand. ‘Well, at least we got a room.’ She turned away from the desk and looked over to her crew. ‘I’ve shared less space with guys on the submarine. Besides, it’s only for a night.’ Garrett took in a breath and shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to her team.

"So what did you get us? What floor are we on? Oh…." Danni looked up at Garrett her eyes twinkling like a child’s on Christmas morning. "Or did you get us a cabin, instead?"

"Hmm…." Garrett thought for a moment, "A room, the second and sorry, no." She watched the twinkle slowly fading from Danni’s gaze as the petite woman slowly associated the words to her earlier questions.

Then the green eyes flashed with a new brilliance as her eagerness bubbled over into her speech; "You got us a suite!"

"No, sorry, just a room. It’s all that they had left." Garrett felt bad that she had to burst the child-like excitement of her friend.

"Hey, at least we won’t have to sleep in the helicopter." Danni, the eternal optimist, tried to make light of the situation at hand. "What do you say we get rid of our bags and get changed while we’re at it."

Cowboy looked around. "You ladies go on. I’m going to get me a cup of java and warm up a bit first over there by the fire."

Garrett handed him one of the room keys. "Then take this, you’ll need it to get into the room."

"Thanks, Doc. I’ll see you a little later at dinner."

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

The sound of metal interacting with metal could faintly be heard as Garrett turned the key, unlocking the door to their room. Standing at the threshold, both women stood peering into the blackness, each one conjuring up in their own mind what they hoped the room would hold.

Danni’s head swam with thoughts of soft candlelight and gentle sounds of intimate mirth brought on by the shared revelations of emotions long held in. She closed her eyes tightly, offering a prayer that they would not be met with rejection as she took that first step into the unknown. Her right hand slowly inched along the wall on the left side of the doorframe in search of the switch as she leaned further into the room. The nurse’s mind thought about how much time she had spent in the dark to her own feelings. Now, could she illuminate the room and possibly what was to become of this newfound life of hers all at the same time. One, hopefully, that would include the dark-haired woman next to her as well.

Danni’s fingers felt the switch as she accidentally turned it on. The glaring brilliance of the light caused her to squint in an effort to shield her eyes, just like her mind had shielded her growing up. Never once had she thought of a woman as she did now. Why all of a sudden was there a change? Was it her or was it fate that had finally taken the nurse’s blinders off? It was like seeing a marvelous jewel for the first time, dazzling the eye and tempting the senses.

Slowly the radiance dulled, revealing a typically set up hotel room, complete with a large king-sized bed and a small love seat off to one side. Danni thought about her own queen-sized bed at home and how she made use of all of its abundant space. ‘Hmmm…guess it will be big enough for the two of us…well, maybe if we get real close.’ She giggled to herself at that thought. Her head turned enough to take the tall woman next to her into her view. Out of the corner of Danni’s eye, she could see the thoughtful expression etched on the surgeon’s face. ‘I guess I’d feel the same way if I liked having my own space all the time. Maybe I could…’

"Mind if I take the bathroom first?" Garrett threw her duffel bag down on the desk along the wall.

The voice startled Danni out of her thoughts. "No, go ahead. I’ll just get my things ready."

The tall woman nodded then moved into the bathroom and closed the door.

The nurse sighed deeply and ambled over to the other side of the bed. "Now, let’s see what’s in store for the night." She plunked her bag down on the huge bed, removed her leather jacket, and started to assemble her clothing to change into.

Garrett stood looking into the mirror, her face showing signs of disappointment. "Well, at least we have a room." Her voice was not very enthusiastic. "I’ve shared before." ‘Space, Gar, that’s all you’ve ever shared with anyone,’ the little voice crept into her brain. She let her hand wash over her face trying to rub away the guilt of never really being able to let another human get close to her. It had been so simple before, why wasn’t it now? What had changed to make her even feel guilty now? "Maybe if I freshen up I’ll feel better." The surgeon lingered, trying to make herself feel more at ease with her own reflection until she finally gave up with a shake of her head. ‘I’ll just get my toiletry bag.’ She reached for the doorknob and slipped out into the next room.

The surgeon grasped her duffel and quickly untied the flap. Grabbing the small bag that she used for her call nights, Garrett turned and caught an eyeful as she stopped abruptly. A few seconds was all that it took for the tall woman to become embarrassed that she was seeing her friend in the act of dressing. Slack jawed and mesmerized she stood there, unable to move, her hand holding tightly onto the toiletry bag.

The petite nurse hadn’t heard the door open as she started to slide her jeans on over her sock-covered feet. Tugging at the waistband of the jeans, she extended her left leg allowing the denim to slide up along the curve of her calf. The strong musculature of her legs was becoming evident in her actions as she shifted from side to side, the soft faded material inching over them easily. The higher up the material rose, the more it clung to the underlying form that held it in place.

Danni straightened up, letting her gaze sweep upward from the bed that she was facing. There, across the room, she locked gazes with blue eyes that were transfixed on her. The exchange of information was inevitable from one to the other as longing haunted each of them in the recesses of their minds. Within seconds, Danni realized that she was standing there, practically nude and facing the woman that was gnawing at her very soul.

The blush of embarrassment started as Danni thought about the lace trimmed underwear that she had brought along, hoping that Garrett would see her in. She’d changed into them and now her wishes had come true. Her presence of mind was coming back to her as she quickly turned her back to the tall woman.

Garrett could sense the embarrassment as she watched the woman suddenly turn in an attempt of modesty. Or was it? Now, the surgeon could clearly see the full contour of the nurse's buttocks as revealed by the almost non-existent thong. The blue eyes watched as the rear portion of the waistband snuggled just under the smooth looking skin of the petite woman’s derriere.

It was at that exact moment that Danni realized she was now giving more of a show than she was before. ‘By the gods!’ Danni paused only momentarily before she hurriedly shifted the material, allowing it to slink smoothly over the posterior portion of her body falling into place at her waist. She sighed at her own thoughtlessness as she fumbled with the button. ‘What’s she going to think of me now? I must look like some floozy to her.’ Danni grabbed for her sweater and held it up to her chest as she turned to look back at her stunned friend. Her eyes opened to see no one. Darting from corner to corner she searched for the tall familiar form only to find it gone. The sound of bathroom door closing stopped her from hunting any further.

"Damn!" The nurse spun around and crumpled down on the edge of the bed. "I wonder what she’s thinking about me now?" Danni slowly pulled the sweater over her head, then sat there with her elbows resting on her knees, her head in her hands.

Garrett stared at the wall opposite the door. Her left hand held tightly onto the doorknob for fear the wave of emotions that had met her out there would demand entrance to continue their barrage of her soul. Her breathing was somewhat labored as she fought to calm her racing heart. She looked to her left at the reflection in the mirror. The clothing was the same as before, but for some reason, the woman seemed different. Her mind searched for the correct word to describe her feelings. Then it came to her. The word was…scared. The surgeon’s pallor was far from her normal golden-hued skin. It was as if she had seen a glimpse of some long forgotten treasure that had been hers in a previous life, the ghost of which still haunted her soul.

Jumbled thoughts ran rapid. The cool level head of the surgeon was nowhere to be found. She released the doorknob and turned to face her image in the mirror. Leaning forward, her shoulders slumped as she locked her elbows and caught herself on the counter top of the vanity, her hands wrapping around the edge for support. Blue eyes gazed blankly at her likeness trying to find something that would clear her mind and bring it back to the world that she knew well, the world of self control.

‘You’re an accomplished surgeon, not some medical student. You’ve seen hundreds…no…thousands of human bodies in all forms of disrobe.’ Garrett peered deep into her own eyes, the windows to her soul. ‘What makes this one any different than the rest?’ She watched, breathlessly, then it came to her. ‘Danni…it was Danni.’

The petite blonde was in a quandary. ‘Do I say something to Gar, perhaps I should tell her of my feelings for her or just let it go and make like it was no big deal?’ Danni closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. ‘This sure wasn’t how I imagined the night to be.’ She thought for a moment, then decide her course of action. Nothing! She’d just pretend that it was no big deal. With that thought in her mind, the young woman got up and walked to the bathroom, pausing only for a moment to look at the closed door that separated them. ‘Jeez, Gar, I didn’t mean to scare you.’ Danni bit at her lip, then nodded and went out the door. She was now resigned to accept whatever treatment she received from Garrett. Hopefully they would still be friends.

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

Garrett stood at the bottom of the stairs surveying the crowd of stranded skiers. The ski lodge was busy with patrons that were letting the weather outside give them reason to eat, drink and be merry. After all, what else was there left to do in the near whiteout condition?

Stepping around to the other side of the stairway, the tall surgeon looked, desperately trying to find the petite blonde. Not seeing her, Garrett began to worry. ‘ I wonder if I embarrassed her more than I thought? Maybe I should get Cowboy and…’ That’s when she heard the laughter and jeers. She knew that voice and turned a little more just in time to see Rosie teasing everyone around her as she readied to chug a glass of beer. Garrett rolled her eyes and in doing so, noticed the name of the area that she was entering into, the Foggy Goggle.

Making her way over to the group, Garrett saw Danni seated between Rosie and a young man that looked vaguely familiar to her. For a moment, the surgeon thought that she knew him but then decided she didn’t.

Trying not to stare, the surgeon let her gaze take in the whole area. This part of the ski lodge was arranged with small, round, green tables, each one with seating for four. The normal array of neon beer logos hung from the rafters, each one lighting the way to the large fancy ‘U’ shaped unstained pine bar complete with stools. It was obvious which beers were the ones of choice in this establishment, Coors, Bud, Miller’s, and of course, the hometown favorite, I.C. Lite hung directly over the table that the D.J. was sitting at.

The lighting was dim at best without the bright sun coming in the large expanse of windows that lined the walls, all giving excellent views of the slopes on the Front Face of the mountain. The night gave way to the more moodily lit tiffany-styled shades with their low wattage bulbs. This wing of the lodge was now ready for the soft whispers and the tingle of emotions that the consumed alcohol would bring. It was by rights, your typical bar or meeting spot of the young and single crowd.

Danni picked up her glass to take a sip of the rum and coke that had been so graciously ordered for her. ‘I can’t believe David remembered what I had last year.’ She smiled at him and sipped once more before setting the glass down on the table. Looking up, she saw the tall form of Garrett approaching the group. "Hey," her eyes softened with a friendly glow, "Gar, over here." The petite woman waved her hand to signal her friend. Once Danni made sure that the surgeon was coming towards her, she hastily looked for somewhere to set her at the group of tables. Seeing that there were two empty chairs across the tables and down a few spaces from her, Danni motioned for Garrett to have a seat.

The surgeon took her time getting to it, not knowing quite how to act toward Danni. ‘I better play this one by ear. However she treats me…that’s what I’ll return.’ Garrett eyed the chair as she pulled it out from under the table and sat down. Looking around the collection of tables, the surgeon picked out several people that she didn’t know. Studying the close proximity that they had with a staff member next to them, Garrett reasoned that they were either mates or dates of the people she knew. Her eyes wondered over to Danni and the young man sidled up to the nurse’s side. ‘I wonder who he is…and what he is to Danni?’

The group from the E.R. was all talking at pretty much the same time. The constant chattering seemed to be about the events of the day on the slopes outside. Garrett sat and listened to the stories until she felt as though someone was staring at her. Turning slowly to her left, the surgeon looked to the empty chair that had been next to her. There, to her surprise, was Ian McCormick sitting back in the chair with his hands resting on a tall glass of beer and a smile leering at his lips.

"I’ve had enough skiing for one day," Rosie announced, "It’s time to dance." She jumped up and headed toward the D.J. and the small open area for dancing. "Who’s coming with me?" She yelled at the group, "Mom, Danni, come on. David, pull that nurse up and bring her out here."

Not wanting to have anymore attention drawn to herself, Danni obligingly got up from her seat and followed David to the dance floor where the fast beat music was playing.

"I see you saved a seat for me, Dr. Trivoli. Could it mean that you’ve decided to thank me for the little weekend that I’ve arranged for your team?" Ian began to let his gaze move up and down her body as his head motioned to Danni. "I thought that maybe you girls were working a little too hard lately and needed…shall we say…a little fun." His eyebrows wiggled causing the lines in his forehead to follow suit, rippling nearly up to the top of his baldhead.

The words caught Garrett off guard. Now, things were coming to light. Ian had arranged this rendezvous with a little down time to make a little time himself. The coy smile of the surgeon was hidden from the man. She needed to see how far she could go without tipping her hand. ‘Two can play this game, Ian and I’d say that you’ve met your match, if not better.’

The tall woman pulled her chair just a tad closer to the physician, hoping he would see it as an attempt of letting her intentions to be known. Garrett glanced at him, then out onto the dance floor where Danni filled her view.

The surgeon sat there for a while watching the smooth movements of her young friend as the music beat a rhythm that made you want to move right along with it. Danni looked happy and carefree as she moved in conjunction with the man that seemed to know every step she was about to take.

"So, tell me, Dr. McCormick, how easy was it to get McMurray to agree to this." Garrett used her hand to motion to the group and the lodge. "I’m sure you just didn’t tell him what your agenda was, now did you?"

Ian chuckled. "That old man has no idea what’s really going on. He’s set in his ways, doesn’t know what us young people are all about."

Garrett raised her eyebrow at that idea. ‘Remember how the saying goes, Ian. It’s the young and beautiful people.’ She eyed his baldhead, swearing that she could see the reflection of the tiffany shade above them in it. She looked casually out to the dance floor once again, her eyes quickly finding Danni. She watched the movement of the nurse’s torso, finally allowing herself to concentrate on the derriere as it was now facing her. The memory of cream colored lace was still fresh in her mind.

"So, you think you know what it is that the younger bunch is looking for, eh?" Garrett let her eyes drift off to him without moving her head. "Tell me, what is it that we need right about now."

"Say, why don’t you let me get you a drink?" He winked at her as he began to rise. "Beer, or would you like a drink with a little more kick? I’m going to get myself another shot and a beer." Ian leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear. "You know, you are down for the night, why not just let yourself go and enjoy."

Garrett fought hard not to get angered at this last statement. Putting on a sickening smile, the surgeon turned her head to whisper right back at him. "Humor me. I can be just as relaxed drinking coffee. Besides, you wouldn’t want me to not be able to remember it later, now would you?"

Ian’s face lit up. "Coffee, anything special in it?" His eyes were aglow with licentious thoughts.

Garrett smirked as she thought about her young friend on the dance floor. "Yeah, I’ll have a little cream with that."

It felt good to be dancing. It was the one thing that Danni ever enjoyed that her mother had thought of as a necessary requirement for all young girls. The long hours spent practicing paid off in situations like this one. The teasing was a lot less if you only took a little bit of coaxing to get up and dance than it did if they had to drag you out of your chair.

The entire time that Danni was up there dancing, she tried to position herself in such a manner that she would be able to keep an eye on the tall surgeon still seated at the table. At one point when the music stopped, Rosie drew Danni’s attention toward the more than civil appearing conversation happening between Garrett and Ian.

"What’s with those two anyway?" It actually looked like they were getting along for once and Rosie just had to comment on it.

Danni immediately spun around to see what she was missing. That’s when she saw Ian lean over, whispering into Garrett’s ear. Danni held her breath, waiting to see the sparks fly but they never did. Instead, Garrett reciprocated the whisper with one of her own, which sent McCormick scurrying off to the bar. ‘Huh?’ " Maybe she’s just being nice in front of everyone."

"I don’t know. They always say that the ones that protest too much end up being strange bedfellows. You think maybe her and McCormick…" Rosie wiggled her eyebrows, "will you know…do the tango under the sheets tonight?"

Danni looked at Rosie then at the dark-haired surgeon and shook her head. ‘Great, that’s all I need. I finally fall in love with someone and lose her to the likes of Ian McCormick.’ "I’d be surprised."

"Yeah, well rumor has it that’s why you got grounded up here today. Ian arranged for his girls to have some "fun" time. He’s the one who told me to invite David up."

Danni stopped and turned in the direction that her hand was being tugged. David had her and was leading her back towards the dance floor. "May I have this next dance?" As if it had been cued to start at that exact moment, the slow and mellow music filtered across the air. Danni obliged him as she stepped up and laid her hands on his body just like she’d been taught so many years ago. With her head resting on his shoulder, the nurse kept a wary eye on her tall friend, praying that Rosie was wrong.

David let the music set his pace for conversation. Slowly he talked of little things to bring Danni’s mind back on to him and the times that they had shared in the E.R. He wanted her to know that he valued her friendship above all else. It was with that in mind that he ventured into the discussion of having a room all to himself for the night. Then without warning the words took Danni by surprise. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you stay in my room tonight? We’re friends aren’t we? We could just talk about old times and get reacquainted. What do you say?"

Danni let him spin her around as she thought about what he was saying, but her mind only could see what was going on back at the tables with Garrett and Ian.

The two nemeses had gotten physically closer, the baldhead of the physician contrasting with the shoulder length raven-hair of the surgeon. Each one waiting for just the right time to spring their trap on the other. Ian lifted his shotglass, draining it once more then quickly followed it with the chaser of beer. He wanted to build up his courage before he would tangle with the demanding surgeon. He reached into his pocket and dangled the key in front of Garrett.

The surgeon’s eyes twinkled with the dangling key dancing in front of her face. She snatched the key with her hand and held onto it. Ian’s eyes bugged out in shock. It was as if the tall woman was actually eager about sharing the night with him.

The physician began to rise from his chair, only to be pulled down by Garrett’s strong hand on his arm. Garrett leaned in closer to whisper as she juggled the key so that the soft metal on metal sound could be heard. The surgeon wink as she released his arm. Ian slowly nodded. He looked around making sure that no one was in earshot of their plans, then went back to his glass of beer.

Danni stood in disbelief as she watched her friend get up and slowly walk away from the table and Ian McCormick. ‘What is she doing? Danni girl, she’s doing what Rosie said she would, playing with the big fish, not some little minnow like you.’

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

Still dressed in his Flight suit, Cowboy was lounging in the main lodge by one of the open fireplaces, sipping on a cup of java. The man was relaxing as he listened to the world revolving around him, lost in a trance of days gone by. The surgeon watched him for a minute or two before approaching.

"Guess you didn’t make it to the room yet, eh?" Garrett pointed to his clothing.

A slow toothy grin spread across his face. "Nah, figured I’d give you two enough time to do whatever it is that women do when they change clothes."

He chuckled then winked. "So what’s the sleeping arrangements, Doc, shifts or floor?"

"Hey, I can’t have my pilot sleeping on the floor. Seems that Dr. McCormick arranged this little free time for us and he’s so graciously given me his room key." Garrett withdrew it from her jean’s pocket and dangled it in front of her face. "He didn’t think that he should be sharing it with a nurse and his implication was that he was more interested in someone of a higher capability." She tossed the key in his direction. "I figured since you were flying all the time, he meant you." She winked. "I told him that the door would be open for him and he could get into the room in about an hour."

Cowboy rolled his eyes and laughed. "You expect me to sleep with that idiot instead of you?"

"No, more like in my place." Garrett shook her head. "He thinks this little girl can’t wait to be with him. I’d get there first and take the bed, if I were you, that’ll leave him to the love seat in the other room."

The pilot did a half salute and started to get up. "Gotcha, Doc. Here, I won’t be needing this then." He handed her his room key. "You and the lil’ one get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning."

"Night, Cowboy." ‘Okay, McCormick, let’s see how you feel about sharing your bed with someone now.’ The tall woman chuckled and sat down in the place that the pilot had vacated, waiting to see Ian get the elevators up to his suite. ‘Hmmm…I sure hope he don’t bust in calling Cowboy his little girl.’

**********

It wasn’t long before Garrett had seen what she was waiting for. Apparently Ian had bolstered his courage more than he needed with a few more rounds of drinks. The telltale unsteadiness of his gait and the time spent in making a decision on which button to push for the elevator was a dead give away to the trained eye. ‘Yep, that will do you. With all that alcohol on board he’ll be lucky to make it to the room let alone try to do anything to disrupt Cowboy’s sleep.’ The surgeon chuckled to herself. "Say nighty-night, Dr. McCormick."

Now, it was imperative that she found Danni and get to the room, far away from the wrath of McCormick when he found Cowboy in her place. The woman made her way back down to the Foggy Goggle. The numbers of people were dwindling as the hour grew later. Several of the hospital staff had already headed to their rooms when Garrett saw Danni sitting at the table without David at her side. The young nurse looked pensive as she played with her half empty glass.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Danni was startled by the familiar voice. "Huh?" She turned to see who it was. ‘Gar, what are you doing here. I thought you and Ian…’

"Hey, you coming to bed or are you going to party all night?" Garrett motioned toward the nurse’s drink.

"I…ah…" Danni’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Could she really be asking me that question?’ "Why don’t you go ahead and enjoy the bed. I’ll just stay up and talk to David."

Garrett studied her friend. "David? How do you know David? I mean, I don’t remember seeing him around the hospital."

"You’ve seen him before, Gar. He was the Chief that handed off to you on your first day at the hospital. Remember?"

"Oh, guess that’s why I thought he looked a little familiar."

"Gar, I know how you like your space, and one less in that room will help."

"What are you saying, Danni?"

"David offered to let me share his room tonight. I just figured that you and…"

"Whoa, wait a minute." Garrett’s face turned serious. "The only one I’m sharing a room with tonight is you. Cowboy’s sharing a suite with Ian." She glanced down at her watch. "Although McCormick doesn’t know that yet." Blue eyes looked deep into green as she conveyed her sentiment.

"I thought you and Ian…"

"Yeah, well, so did he. Let me tell you, you’re both mistaken." The surgeon smiled. "Now what do you say we go sack out. Never know when we might be called upon with that storm out there."

The nurse pushed her drink away and rose from her chair. "Yeah, well, I hope you got a dog sled and a team of dogs, cause their ain’t nothing else getting through out there tonight."

"Ah…sorry, they’re in my other duffel bag." Garrett teased. "You want to let David know where you’re going?"

Danni looked over to the bar where David was conversing to someone he knew as he waited on another drink. "I guess, maybe I should."

"What are you going to tell him?"

Danni thought for a moment then let the one side of her mouth edge upward into a smile. "I’ll tell him the truth." She shrugged her shoulders. "You go home with the one that brought you." She teased.

**********

Ian tiptoed into the dimly lit room. There, over the back of a chair was laid the Flight suit. It’s reflective tape showing in the dark. The long form in the bed caused the physician’s mind to race with anticipation. ‘Hmm…she’s resting up for the long night ahead.’ He eased himself down on the bed, being just a tad unsteady from an evening of drinking and started to take off his shoes when the sound of snoring became quit evident. ‘I guess she’s a snorer.’ He shrugged his shoulders, ‘I wonder if she’s as vocal in the heat of passion?’ Then continued with his disrobing.

Ian could feel the perspiration building up on his brow and took the shirt that he had just removed and wiped his forehead, stretching up onto his head. ‘Maybe I should catch a little sleep first before we get down to business. I think that alcohol is getting to me.’ And with that thought, the physician slipped under the covers and fell fast asleep, adding his own harmony to the music of the night.

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

The elevator door opened and the two women stepped off in mid conversation.

"Gar, I said that I could sleep on the love seat."

"Nope, you’re small but not that small. You’ll never be able to stretch out and relax."

"Well, I’ll sleep on the floor then. You can have the bed."

Garrett slid the key into the lock and turned it. "Danni, there’s more than enough room in a king size bed for the two of us. End of discussion." She opened the door and stepped inside, waiting for her friend to follow her.

Danni knew that she had nothing left to argue with. "Okay, but you pick which side you want then." She walked over to her overnight bag and started to rummage through it for her bedclothes.

The surgeon closed the door and locked it, making sure the security latch was in place. ‘I wonder if McCormick’s figured out that I’m not in bed with him yet?’ "Danni, why don’t you take the bathroom first."

"Okay." The nurse gathered up her things and headed into the small room. "Don’t worry, it won’t take me long." She turned on the light and pulled the door closed.

The tall woman looked at the bed. ‘Does it really matter what side?’ Her eyes traveled to the far side of the bed where all of Danni’s things were laid out. "I guess that’s her favorite side." The lopsided smile shone brightly as she went to the left side of the bed and pulled down the covers. ‘And this is my favorite side. What a team.’

With the precision of the Navy behind her, not to mention many nights on call, Garrett efficiently stripped off her jeans and sweater, laying them out for quick access. She reached into her duffel bag and pulled out her clothing for the night, one pair of silk boxers and a thin strapped tank top and proceeded to dress for bed.

The nurse emerged from the bathroom with her jeans and sweater tucked neatly under her arm. As she turned the corner into the larger part of the room she caught a glimpse of long legs slipping under the covers. Trying to steady her mind, Danni clutched at her clothing a little harder as her head turned to see the rest of the body that was attached to the legs. The large expanses of flesh caught her eyes immediately and stuck in her head.

It took her a minute, but finally she was able to get the words out. "I’m…I’m…" she stuttered, "ah…done. Yeah, I’m…ah…done in the bathroom, if you need it." ‘Great, Danni, you sound like an idiot.’ The blonde rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, but I won’t need it." Garrett snuggled down under the covers then looked back over to Danni. "You’d better get some rest, who knows what could happen during the night."

"Yeah, who knows?" Danni shook her head in disbelief. ‘Does she realize what this is doing to me or is she just teasing me, unmercifully?’ The nurse made her way to the other side of the large bed, then put her clothing away before she sat down on the turned down covers for a restful night. She sat there for a moment before she proceeded to remove her shoes and got in under the covers, clinging desperately to the very edge of her allotted side of the bed. ‘Rest? How can I rest with her just a few feet away from me and under the same covers, too?’

Garrett reached out from the covers and turned off the light next to her side of the bed. "Night, Danni." She nestled down into the pillow, waiting for sleep to overcome her.

Sighing, Danni picked up her feet and carefully pulled the covers over them as she lay back on the bed. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling for a moment until it registered with her brain that she needed to turn off the light. Rolling over, she stretched out just enough to flip the lever on the light switch and then the room was black. Sinking down into the bed, Danni rolled up on her side and grabbed onto the edge of the mattress like a ship moored at a dock. It wasn’t long before the events of the day had brought her sleep with a welcoming grin.

**********

The dream was becoming more and more real with each minute that went by. The young woman was trying desperately to free herself of the burden that had been placed upon her. It was as though she was in a small box with the walls closing in on her. Given a chance, Danni swore that they had arms and legs that reached out and grabbed on to her in a vice-like grip.

Gradually the walls of the box cleared and she was able to call out, but no one was listening to her pleas for help. Each passer-by only took whatever he wanted from around her and continued on without a single word. They acted as though it wasn’t her time yet to be noticed.

Danni struggled to wake up and as she did, her imagination gave way to reality. She was, indeed, being held down by arms and legs cast over and around her body. At one point in her foggy mind, she imagined herself with more than her allotted amount of appendages. Cold sweat broke out on the young woman’s forehead. She was working hard to rid herself of the weighty problem when she finally realized that her dream had been brought on by the tall surgeon who was sharing the bed with her. Only then did her wild and strained movements stop for fear of waking the woman wrapped around her.

Not wanting to embarrass her friend, Danni slowly and methodically eased herself out from under the death grip. Once back on her side of the bed, she sat looking at the woman next to her, still asleep and unaware of what was going on. Thankful for that small favor, the petite nurse grabbed on to the edge of the mattress, vowing to stay to her side. As she drifted back to sleep, Danni committed the dream to her memory, not wanting to awaken her team member by turning on the light to find paper and a pen to write it down. It was definitely one that needed to be logged in her journal at home.

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

Garrett struggled to breathe. The world seemed to be pressing down on her, keeping her in place for some odd reason. It was as if she needed to be here in this space and time for her destiny to come to her.

The keen mind of the surgeon tried to grasp at her surroundings with all of her senses, using each and every one of them to help her. Her body could feel the warmth exuding from the force that held her down, its moist heat coming off like the settling warmth of a cup of hot tea. Inhaling as deeply as she was able to, Garrett tried to savor the unique scent of softness reaching out to her in the night with such an essence of purity that it kept her fear from surfacing.

Garrett was able to breathe now, as the weight on her began to shift and new sensations brought her body closer to being fully awakened. The rhythmic feel of heat gently encompassing her left breast acting like a lover’s tender caress, both stimulating and relaxing at the same time. The surgeon found her body wanting to sink into that realm where everything is an elusion to the perversity of what was real. Letting her mind savor those sensations, Garrett turned to her keen sense of hearing for more information. There, in the dead silence of the lumbering night, the almost nonexistent sound of childlike snoring could be heard. It was then that she knew she was not alone.

The gentle exploration of her right hand as it swept from its resting-place at her side touched warm, soft and supple flesh. The kind that would bring a smile to your face as images of newborn babies flashed across your mind. She wasn’t quite awake yet but knew that what she was feeling could change her outlook on life as she knew it. Like a new beginning, it beckoned her.

The dark-haired woman fought through the last remnants of her dream-like state, she needed to know what it was that was having such a pleasant effect on her night. Her eyes struggled to open, then focus on the form intertwined with her own. The dim light of the very early morning only cast enough brightness that she could barely make out the silhouetted form next to her, hints of gold casting about its head.

Slowly, looking from side to side, she realized that she had not invaded the young woman’s area, but rather met in the middle, each one acting as a bridge to the other’s side. Thoughts of staying there, in that world of comfort soon drifted by as Garrett dutifully slipped out from under the young blonde’s leg. Sliding out from under the covers, Garrett wiped her face with her hand as she got out of bed to answer the needs of her body.

***********

The first real rays of light drifted in around the drawn window coverings, as Cowboy got rolled up on one elbow and looked over to the lump of human flesh that was on the far side of the huge bed. Smiling to himself, the pilot had to give the Doc credit for her idea. ‘He’s never going to realize that he slept with me instead of her. Hmmm…that gives me an idea of my own.’ The skivvies-clad man crawled out of bed, put on his boots and headed into the bathroom with his shave kit in hand.

It wasn’t long after the door closed that Ian’s sleepy form rolled over to face the now empty half of the bed. Feeling for the warmth of a long sensuous body, his hand came up empty. His blood-shot eye opened, revealing the thrown back covers and rumpled sheeting where the warm body had been only moments before.

The sound of water running in the shower now trickled through Ian McCormick’s mind. He imagined himself a drop of water rolling over the soft skin and ample curves of Garrett Trivoli. His eyes darted to the chair that he remembered the Flight Suit had been on. Seeing it still there, Ian sighed. Yes, she’d have to come out to get dressed and he’d be able to view what he dreamt of often. Ah! Life was good.

The physician rolled on to his back, the thought of nights to remember flirting with his mind, and drifted off into a world of dreams.

Cowboy emerged from the bathroom, quickly dressed and grabbed his flight case from under the desk in the sitting room of the suite. Setting the case down on the chair, he pulled open the drawer and removed a piece of the complimentary stationary and penned a brief note. Folding the paper in half, the pilot scribbled ‘McDoc’ on the front and left it there with the room key for Ian to find. Being careful not to make too much noise, Cowboy picked up his case and exited, pulling the door shut as he left.

***********

The dream came to her only seconds before she woke. Its snippet of vision was not a vision at all but rather a feeling that her world was as it should be…or was that as it used to be? The strong arms that held her tightly in her dream were like vigilant sentinels standing guard over her heart while the lush green of the forest that surrounded, cradled them both with its moss covered ground, acting like a velvet blanket for them to lay on. Her world seemed complete with the soft refrain of the birds’ overhead and the antics of the small creatures that watched over them. They were alone with each other, sheltered from any that would do them harm.

Her thoughts were a jumble of confusion as she fought to stay with the dream for as long as she could, never wanting it to end. Perhaps that is why Danni couldn’t believe she was lying there awake. The same feeling that she had in the dream, she was feeling now. It was like all the love in the world was being self-contained in her very own soul. ‘By the Gods, what I would give to have this all the time. I’ve got to remember this one.’ She sighed, thinking that it had been quite a while since that last journal entry of hers. The nurse could picture the worn book, still on her nightstand next to her bed at home. ‘Who would have thought that I’d have a dream after all this time.’

The lone blue orb peered out into the morning’s dim light. The soft blurring of blonde hair was in front of her face. Slowly Garrett began taking stock of the wonderfully restful sensation that she was a part of, her body spooned up against the petite woman lying next to her. Each body seemingly fit like a piece of a puzzle, one to the other with no areas left untouched.

The surgeon could feel the gentle stirring of Danni as she came out of her world of dreams. Garrett’s hazed state made her slow to react, knowing that her arm now encircled the nurse and held her tightly, denying any thought of letting her go.

Each woman laid there, basking in the warmth of human contact, not wanting to draw the other’s attention to the fact that they were enjoying the moment. The seconds grew to a minute, then lingered even longer letting time be a measure unto itself.

The sound of the ringing phone in the room had startled both into a frenzied separation of their bodies. Their eyes avoided each other for fear of their friend’s embarrassment. Danni, rolling off to her edge of the mattress while Garrett moved to put a stop to the ringing of the phone.

"Hello!" The surgeon voice was crisp and clear, meaning nothing but business.

Danni sat on the bed, her heart racing like a wild animal. ‘She’s going to know for sure now.’ The nurse stole a glance over her shoulder. ‘I can’t believe that I…she…’ Her eyes got bigger. ‘That we were laying there like that.’

The nurse could hear words but nothing was making sense to her. Just the thoughts running through her mind and the pressing need to write down her dreams that seemed to be grasped by her mind. Danni’s eyes roamed the room in search of something, anything that she could use. ‘The desk! There has to be something there.’ The petite woman got up and went to it.

Within the time it took Garrett to complete her phone call, Danni had finished recording her dreams. ‘One day, I know these will make sense to somebody.’ Danni kept her back turned when she heard Garrett hanging up the phone. She wasn’t ready to see the look on Garrett’s face.

"That was Cowboy!"

The nurse kept her pen going in a mock writing motion while she answered. "Hmmm?"

"He wants us to get ready to leave. Seems like there is going to be a brief window of opportunity to fly in about 30 minutes."

"Okay, I’ll take the bathroom first." Danni rose from the chair and grabbed her Flight Suit off of the hanger. "I’ll be done in just a few." She entered the bathroom and closed the door.

Garrett got out of the bed and paced the room briefly, not knowing whether to be the first to say something or not. She could see that Danni was obviously upset by the situation. "Damn, I don’t want to lose this friendship," she muttered under her breath and she knew what she had to do.

Danni vacated the bathroom to see Garrett’s duffel bag packed except for her toiletry bag, and the woman herself already dressed in her Flight Suit. The surgeon brushed past her as she grabbed her small bag and entered the empty room. The sound of the door locking behind her made the nurse feel as though she was having an important part of her life taken away. She felt herself being closed off, her lungs crying out for air, her heart ripping in two. ‘If only she would have left me sleep on the love seat or floor. I’d be sore but at least I wouldn’t hurt like this.’ Danni hung her head and slowly packed her bag, her eyes stealing glances at the king-size bed that they had shared.

The tall woman had been silent in her entry to the room. She stood there, watching the sullen nurse finish her packing. Stuffing her toiletry bag into the duffel and tying it shut, Garrett spoke softly. "Danni, I’m sorry for what happened earlier." She paused but the petite woman did not turn around or slow her efforts in packing. "I must have been dreaming. Honest, I didn’t mean anything by it."

The words echoed in Danni’s head, ‘Didn’t mean anything by it.’ It felt like a stake going through her heart each time it repeated itself. She closed her eyes and held onto the overnight bag, fighting the tears back. "Don’t worry about it." She picked up her bag and turned around to face her team member. The eye contact was only for a second but it hurt more than she thought. Hurriedly casting her eyes to the floor, she started for the door, "I’ll meet you at the helicopter," and was gone.

Garrett picked up her bag and followed the nurse, pausing at the open door to turn and gaze one last time at the rumpled blanket covered bed, then stepped out, closing the door behind her.

***********

Ian McCormick walked out into the setting room when he spied the folded over paper on the desk. Picking it up, he studied the handwriting. "Gosh, you’d think for as well educated as we are, doctors would be able to write more legibly." The only word on the front was a strange one at that. "McDoc," he muttered then let the corners of his mouth edge into a smile. "Must be her pet name for me." He opened the sheet and began to read aloud, wanting to hear the words as if she were saying them. "Thanks for letting me rest before taking off to new heights." That was all there was, nothing more.

The sound of blades spinning in the thin mountain air as the helicopter readied for take off drew him to the window. Ian stood with the note still in his hand, watching the lift off begin. The slow motion of his waving hand was like a metronome to the song of the rotors as the ship flew out of sight.

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

Danni sat, buckled into her seat. Her close proximity to the surgeon was not an easy one to maintain but in the cramped quarters of the helicopter it was as far as she could get. The nurse could tell by the quietness of her team member that her time up in the air was going to be filled with lots of thought about what had happened between the two friends.

She closed her eyes, and tried to remember the feeling of her dream. Each time her mind brought the same image to her. Garrett…was all she could think about.

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.

***********