K Darblyne - The Fellowship

"Do you think we could do just a little fishing today, I mean, the two of us?" Garrett looked at the petite woman, hope written all over her face.

Speechless, the blonde hair moved freely on top of the nodding head, while a dazzling smile swept across her face. Her voice was unsteady at first, taken aback by the emotion of the moment. "Sure thing! I’ll get the rods and gear." She pushed back from the table and went to the small closet on the far wall. "Grampa always had them ready to go. I bet…yep! They’re still here." She pulled out a rather dated set of rods and a small tackle box. Holding them up, she proceeded to ask, "Shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

They hurriedly grabbed their jackets and took off with thoughts of fishing both now and in the past racing through each of their minds.

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

The day quickly sped by as they filled it with exploration of the area that Danni had grown up in, falling in love with it all over again. The petite woman was amazed at how natural it felt to have the surgeon at her side as they roamed the many trails she had used as a girl. The pleasure brought to them in the time spent fishing had been soothing to both of their souls. Garrett was finding it easy to open up to the younger woman, while Danni lavished in the acceptance of herself by another living being, one that would willingly share with her unconditionally. Any scars remaining from the past days of loneliness in her youth now became insignificant.

With the sun now slowly starting it’s descent, the pair packed up their belongings and readied themselves for the ride home. The relaxed feeling of quiet camaraderie allowing each occupant of the homeward bound Blazer to reevaluate her outlooks on life in the light of the newly, bonded friendship.

Continued (Conclusion)

Danni marveled at the occurrences of the past few days. They had been a roller coaster ride full of emotions, ranging from the deepest depths of self-inflicted depression to the elated joys of finding a kindred spirit. Something was different about her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew it to be true. For the first time in her life she had slept with no jumbled dreams, no pieces of a puzzle left lingering to haunt her first waking moments of the new day.

Sighing, she lazily rolled over in the large bed, basking in the afterglow of her mind’s delight. Once on her back, she nestled into the soft pillow as she let her right arm sweep the expanse of the bedding, feeling the rumpled sheets that had formed into small mounds and valleys, only to find the object of her desire seemingly just out of her reach. Opening a sleepy eyelid as she raised her head, the petite woman started to survey the bed.

"Danni," the voice was muffled. "Danni, I thought you wanted to ride in together today?" The sounds of footsteps were in the hall. "Hey, sleepy head, are you going to stay in bed all day?" The voice was much louder now as the silk robed form of the tall woman stood in the doorway. She busied herself with the towel that was wrapped around her wet hair on top of her head.

"Argggh! Now I know why I hate daylight. How come the nights never pass that fast when I work them?" The nurse shook her head trying to rid herself of the last remnants of sleep. Danni reached out, fingering the journal that lay on her nightstand.

"Dan, it’s getting late, I don’t think you have time for that this morning." The surgeon eyed the book that her friend was toying with.

"Oh, this? No, I’m just so used to writing in it every time that I wake up, it’s become a habit I guess." She let a smirk play across her face as she realized that for once, she had nothing to write in it. "Funny thing is, I don’t have any bits or pieces to put into it today. I figured that sooner or later the pieces of the puzzle would come together, that’s why I documented them."

"Hmmm, I always liked puzzles. Maybe you should let me look at it sometime." She offered hoping that she was not being too presumptuous. "Maybe you are just too close to the clues to see what they are all about?"

"I never thought of that. You might be on to something there." The blonde hair tossed from side to side as the young woman stretched first this way and then that way, trying to limber up her muscles before using them. "Okay, I’m up now." Her body betrayed her with a yawn. "Excuse me," she rolled her eyes shyly. "How long before we leave?"

Without hesitation she beamed, "0530 sharp! That gives you a little under 45 minutes to get ready." She began moving down the hallway, still toweling her hair dry. "The trail blazer leaves on time, I’ve got an O.R. time at 0700 with McMurray."

"Okay, I’m going…" she slid out of the warm bed and padded off to the bathroom. "And I’ll be waiting for you." Danni yelled out as she closed the door to her room.

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

True to her word, Danni was leaning against the side of the Blazer when Garrett came out of the front door of the house. With her arms folded across her chest, she watched as the surgeon made her way to the vehicle. Flicking her remote key device to unlock the doors, she shook her head saying, "I can’t believe that you’re ready. You couldn’t have eaten."

Shrugging her shoulders, the nurse nonchalantly replied. "You are right. I opted to have breakfast in the cafeteria." The coy smile played across her face as she turned to open the passenger door.

The pair quietly took up their positions in the front seat of the SUV and belted themselves in for the journey to work. Casually Danni looked at the digital display on the dashboard; it was 0529 as Garrett turned the key, bringing the lumbering engine to life. After taking a cautious look up and down the quiet street, Garrett eased on the gas pedal and pulled away from the curb. The nurse smiled as the display of numbers now changed to 0530.

Danni marveled at the punctuality of her friend. Now, here was someone that she could count on, right down to the second.

The short drive to the hospital was quiet as each occupant of the vehicle thought about her day to come. The ride was at an end as Garrett pulled the oversized vehicle into the special section of the parking garage, startling the thought absorbed nurse when her eyes focused on a concrete pillar in front of the now parked vehicle.

"Are we there already?" The blonde head turned, looking at her surroundings.

"Ah…yeah, Danni, it’s not like the ride back from Sandy Lake yesterday." She thought about the long drive and how relaxed she felt from the weekend trip.

"Oh, yeah…right!" She climbed down from the seat and gathered up her knapsack and gloves. She closed the door and met the surgeon in the rear of the vehicle to start the walk over to the hospital entrance. "Gar," she spoke softly. "Are you going to talk to McMurray today?"

"Well, of course, I have a planned surgery with him. Why wouldn’t I be talking to him?" She looked puzzled.

The petite woman reached out to touch her friend’s coat sleeve saying, "I mean about your idea, you know, Diana Morgan." Her brows were furrowed as she looked up into the stoic face.

"Yeah, but I think that I’ll do that later today. I want to do a little research first. See what resources might be available to us." She nodded her head. "Are you still interested in helping?"

One look was all that it took to know the answer. The beaming smile and twinkling eyes said it all. The blonde suddenly bowed her head as if becoming shy and very reserved. "If you still want me too," she kept her voice barely above a whisper.

"I do! I want this to be a team effort, no more soaring out there on my own." There was a pause as the words settled on both their ears. Realizing what she had just verbalized to her friend surprised her a little, no, a whole lot. But it felt good and she was ready to take the next step into that warming smile of friendship. "I think that we can make a good team, you and I. What do you say?" She held her breath in anticipation of the young woman’s answer.

"Yeah, I think we’d make an excellent team. I wouldn’t want it any other way." The blonde looked up to her tall companion, her nose wrinkled in thought. "Maybe we should see what McMurray will say?"

"What could he say? He’s always pushing to get the spotlight for his Trauma Services. I think this will be a step in the right direction, at least from my standpoint." Garrett opened the door to the emergency area entrance, holding it for Danni to pass through ahead of her.

"I’ll just feel better when you know for sure. Call me when you do. Okay?"

The surgeon nodded and began to walk towards the elevators. "Hey, Danni!" She turned to speak to the nurse once more. "Page me when you’re done with work. I may spend some time doing some research after I’ve spoken with him, too."

"All right, I know how you get. You’ll lose track of all time and forget about going home." She started to turn, "Have a good day, Gar, and good luck."

The surgeon stood and watched as the nurse went down the hall towards the locker room. "How does she do that? She knows me so well. Humph, better than I know myself sometimes." She shook her head in amazement, and then stepping on the to next available elevator, continued on her way.

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

The morning hours were dragging for the young nurse. With every ring of the telephone at the nurses’ station her anticipation rose. Every free minute she found herself beseeching any god that might be listening to have them smile down with favor on her friend’s good intentions. Danni knew how much this project meant to the surgeon, not only for her own healing process to continue but also for the help that it would give to others in the same situation like Diana Morgan. She had wished that she knew what kind of surgical case it was that Garrett was involved in, then she would have some idea of when her phone call might come. Deciding to put it out of her mind for a while, she quickly fell into a nice steady pace triaging the onslaught of patients waiting to be seen.

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

The time seemed to be moving quickly. Before Garrett knew it, her scheduled surgical time with McMurray had come and gone. During the operation she had asked to see him later in the day to discuss something that was on her mind. Now, she waited patiently for the prearranged time to come. Studying the computer screen in front of her, she made several last minute notes to bolster support for her case. She didn’t want anything to be overlooked. This was something that she felt compelled to do. If not here then somewhere at another time, but she knew she would do it. She had suffered far too long and too much to sit back watching the same thing happen to others who were just like she was all those many years ago. The loss of family could be so devastating as to wipe out your essence of identity. The bond of family transcends all others. Without it you are left alone and afraid that no one is like you in the world. You lose your self-worth because there is no one like you to measure it up against. The trauma didn’t just stop with the loss of the family but continued on throughout your entire life. This is what she had to convey to McMurray. She had to make him realize that it was something that they could do to stop the trauma from continuing. She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 1430. Time to present her case to the man down the hall who held all of the cards.

She gathered up her notes and shoved them into her pocket. Then making her way down the hall, she stopped in front of Dr. McMurray’s office. Arriving there, she ventured inside of the closed door where the older woman, who was the Department of Trauma Services’ Secretary, greeted Garrett. Her appointment time being confirmed, the Trauma Fellow was directed to knock on Dr. McMurray’s door, as he was expecting her.

She never was one for offering prayers to the gods above, but something deep within her made her stop and lift her eyes heavenward. "Okay," she sighed. ‘I need all the help I can get. I know that Danni would be asking for your help if she were here with me. So maybe you could pretend that it’s her asking for it and not me. Please, let him go along with this proposal.’