Cowboy watched as his two new friends each refused to admit the feelings that he knew they had for each other. He had prayed that he would have been able to ease them along their path. Now he was angered not only at himself but at the world of trauma that robbed these two of such a grand and special moment. It wasn’t often that two people were so right for each other, each one pushing and pulling the other to new levels of achievement. They belonged together for the rest of all time. It was evident to him and with renewed resolve, Cowboy vowed that it would never happen again. At least, not if he could help it. "MVA with an entrapment, north of the city on I-79, ETA approximately ten minutes."


"What’s so special about this one that would require our team?" The nurse was trying to get back into her professional manner.


"The entrapped woman is in hard labor with contractions four minutes apart." The pilot looked into the mirror that reflected the figures in the rear compartment. It was then that he saw the stoic mask of the surgeon slide into place as Garrett prepared for the job that she would have to undertake. Cowboy thought, ‘Now how does that line go…ringing out the old and in with the new? I sure hope not.’



* * *

The shock of blonde hair that could be seen as they approached the wreckage made Danni stop dead in her tracks. She gasped and blinked, trying to steady her pounding heart that was now gripped with terror. "Brie?" ‘By the gods, not this way!’ The nurse was losing her fight to remain the professional that she was. The panic-filled eyes riveted to the figure next to her. "Gar…" Her small hand clutched at the surgeon’s leather clad arm.


Garrett saw the consternation in Danni’s eyes. Looking at the wreckage and then back to her young friend’s hair, she could see the resemblance in the color. The surgeon held on to the nurse’s upper arms and bent over to look her directly in the eyes. "Danni, it could just be somebody that looks like her. Stay here! I’ll go see if they know who it is." She paused, only for a moment, letting her silent gaze express her concern. Then she turned to leave, but was stopped short by the grasp of a small hand on her sleeve.


"I’m going with you. I’m a professional and even if that turns out to be my sister, she’s going to need the both of us." Her eyes were filled with determination. "Remember, we are a team."


The surgeon nodded slowly, letting only the corners of her mouth edge upward. She was pleased that Danni would be at her side.


The closer that they got to the wreckage, the severity of it became more evident. The dark colored car could barely be recognized as such with all of the distortion and twisting of the metal. The bustle of rescue workers on the passenger side of the vehicle was almost deafening. The whining hum of their hard-pressed hydraulic tools straining with force as they tried to free the entrapped woman laden with child.


The surgeon made her way around the scene to the other side where the ambulance stood; its flashing strobe lights acting like a sentinel to the grizzly scene. The lone attendant’s attention was glued to the activity as she stood by the stretcher waiting to be called into action.


The appearance of the tall surgeon went unnoticed until she spoke. "Do you know who that is?"


The resounding voice caused the woman dressed in regular clothing in a heavy parka with the letters ‘E.M.S.’ on the back of it to turn quickly in surprise. "Huh?" The woman’s eyes roamed the tall figure trying to recognize the form.


"Dr. Trivoli, Fight Surgeon. They requested my team. This is Nurse Danni Bossard." Garrett held out her hand in greeting. "Do you know the woman’s name?" She looked over to the wreckage and then settled back on the attendant.


"Oh, …sorry, Doc." She clasped the offered hand in greeting, not wanting to be rude. "Yeah, it’s Bre…"


Garrett’s heart jumped at the sound that the medic was emitting, her eyes glancing over at her nurse. ‘Please, don’t let it be her.’


"Bre…" She was obviously racking her memory, "…nda…Brenda Connors."


Danni closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank you!" Danni hung her head realizing that it was someone else’s loved one instead. ‘What would I have told Mother and Dad or Matt? I can’t let anyone else have to do that.’


The surgeon quickly regained her composure and delved right into business now that her question was answered. "What do we know about her. When is her due date? Who’s her Obstetrician?" Garrett began eyeing the back of the ambulance thinking that in a pinch it may have to do for an operating room.


"Hey, Doc, I ain’t no medic or nothing. They all left with the people in that other car. They were hurt pretty bad. It’s just Ed over there and me."


"What exactly are you and Ed?" Danni finally spoke up.


"Ed’s in EMT class right now and I’m just a driver." She gulped at the look that she was receiving from the taller woman. "Heck, we ain’t got but two medics in the whole town. Our two EMTs went with the other ambulance. They said that they’d send help." She looked over at the helicopter in the distance. " I guess you’re it."


Garrett took off in the direction of the wreckage in search of Ed, while Danni thanked the woman for her help.

"Hey, Are you Ed?" The surgeon yelled over the noise of the tools.


"Yeah, you here to help?" The young man turned to face the approaching woman. "Gosh, I sure hope you’re a paramedic."


Garrett smirked, "I think I’ll do. I’m Dr. Trivoli, and the other one dressed just like me is my nurse, Danni Bossard." The surgeon pointed to the entrapped woman. "How’s she doing?"


Ed started rattling off the information that he knew. "She’s full term and was on her way to the hospital in labor when the accident happened. She said her due date was about a week ago and that this is her first pregnancy. They were meeting Dr. Jenkins at hospital. We checked in with him and he’s already delivering a baby as we speak. They figured your team might be a good choice."


Garrett’s eyebrow edged upward at that last comment. "Thanks, for thinking of us. Let me get the other half of my team." She started to walk away.


Reaching out and grabbing at the surgeon’s coat, the boy called out, "Hey, Doc!" Trivoli’s body stopped and turned to look at him. "I forgot to tell you something."


"What?" The concern was written across her face.


The boy pointed to the tarp-covered mass on the ground not far from the wreckage. "That’s her husband."


Garrett gulped down hard as she tasted the bile at the back of her throat. Her eyes darted back to the woman in the wreckage. ‘Not another lone survivor! I won’t let either one of them become that.’ Her mind thought of the unborn child, never knowing either of its parents. She made her mind up to do everything she could not to let another person join her elite club.


She went back to where Danni was standing, waiting to hear the worst.


"Do you know what you’re going to do yet?"


Garrett looked back over to the wreckage. "No…no, I don’t."



* * *

There was little that Garrett or Danni could do while the woman was still trapped. The biggest part of the care that they could administer was to keep track of the contractions, timing them as they came. After giving the pregnant woman their attention and bolstering her will to survive, all they could do was wait. The only exposed areas of the woman was her head, shoulders and left arm and that gave them no access to the baby at all. What they had done already was to quickly assess the patient and establish a large bore I.V. line of warmed Ringer’s Lactate Solution. The night was cold and crisp out here in the country and the team worried about hypothermia in their patient.


Danni stayed with the patient, giving her words of encouragement, while she timed the contractions as they came and went. Her close proximity to the woman helped to keep her warm, as she sheltered her from the wind on her only exposed side. The time of the contractions had slipped to almost three minutes apart now, and the nurse was beginning to be concerned.


The surgeon had thought about all of her options and set them out for the pilot to consider. She needed to know just how long it would take to transport the patient to the list of facilities that she had given him. If none of them were acceptable, she’d have to consider doing the delivery herself.


Cowboy studied his charts and weather patterns hoping to give the best route to the surgeon. He mulled over the calculations in his head before coming to a decision. ‘I hope she knows what she’s doing. Helicopters don’t make good delivery rooms.’ The pilot straightened up and went back to where his team was standing and waiting.


"Any progress yet?" He stood next to Garrett and leaned in toward her.


The surgeon shook her head. "No! How about you?"


"Yeah, I got the answers that you were looking for." He handed her his scribbling on a piece of paper. "But that’s only if we are able to lift off in the next thirty minutes. There’s a change coming in the weather pattern."


Garrett looked at the paper and started planning her method of care. "Thanks, Cowboy."


Suddenly the sound of elated human voices crying out into the night overpowered the deafening drone of the engines and hydraulic tools. The members of the Flight Surgeon Team looked over to see the mass of metal being peeled back away from the entrapped victim, while sidelined firefighters and ambulance personnel whooped and hollered in a victory cry. They had been challenged, and won, the battle to free the woman and her unborn child. The wreckage and carnage would not take them without a fight.


"Cowboy, get the ‘copter ready for lift off." The surgeon directed, then pushed off, heading at a brisk run toward the released hostage.


Danni was helping to stabilize the patient as she was placed onto the long backboard to immobilize her spine. The removal of the wreckage from her body allowed the nurse to finally visualize and assess the woman. The odd angle that her arm was positioned meant only one thing to Danni, a fracture. With swift movements, the nurse quickly directed the splinting of the deformed right lower arm, as Garrett was already examining the woman with her hands on her abdomen, checking for the baby’s positioning. It wouldn’t really matter if she had to take it but it, was always good to know.


The nurse slipped in next to Garrett and handed her the stethoscope from out of her jacket where it had been kept nice and warm with the heat of her body. Danni noticed the pained look on the woman’s face and the rushed short exchanges of air from her mouth.


"Contraction?" The nurse picked up the patient’s left hand and held it. "Go ahead and squeeze my hand if you have to." The nurse’s eyes moved along the exposed areas of the pained woman’s body, searching for any obvious injuries or indications of potential blood loss. Seeing none, Danni looked to see what progress her team member was making.


The patient looked to her and the message was given in grunts, "Ye…ye...yeah."


Danni looked down at the woman’s abdomen to see the stethoscope being moved from area to area as the tall surgeon listened intently. Within a few seconds the spasm lessened and the woman began to relax. The nurse looked into her eyes and began to introduce herself and Garrett but the only concern of the woman was that of her unborn child.


"My baby, don’t let anything happen to my baby." She was sobbing now for the life of her child. Her hand clutched at Garrett’s, drawing her attention. "Take the child if you have to save only one of us." Her eyes pleading what her words could not.


"I’m going to do everything that I can to keep you both safe and alive. Just trust me." Garrett broke her gaze at the woman and demanded of those around her, "I need a flashlight and another blanket. NOW!"


Within seconds, the items were produced and the surgeon undertook the task of assessing the promptness of her impending delivery. Danni quickly draped the lower half of the woman with the blanket as Garrett positioned her legs. Under the privacy of the blanket, the surgeon used the flashlight to illuminate the opening to the birth canal. ‘There’s no crowning yet. We’ve got a little time to go.’