‘The ‘Burgh,’ she chuckled to herself and wondered when her mind had grasped onto that hometown concept. ‘I never really associated myself with any one place before. Well, except for San Francisco were I grew up as a child.’ Then visions of a sparkling, slowly growing smile crossed her mind and she knew. Garrett turned her head, stealing a look at the woman whose hand was holding onto her own. ‘Could I actually be falling in love?’


Danni caught the last few seconds of the stolen glance and met it with one of her own. ‘By the Gods, I love the sensation of just holding her hand.’ Then to prove that it was not a dream, she gently squeezed her fingers and found the touch to be returned and very real. She closed her eyes, and savored the moment.



* * *

The last thing that Danni wanted to do was to leave Garrett’s side. Slowly she slipped her hand out of the surgeon’s as the car slowed to a stop in front of the Hospital.


Karen turned to view the occupants of the rear seat. "You two going to be alright to drive home?"


"Yeah, if you want I could drop you off at your door." Rosie chimed in. Her eyes searched the rearview mirror for any indication of acceptance to her proposal.


"No," Garrett cleared her throat. "I have to check on my patient. Thanks for the offer Rosie."


"Hey, Doc, I don’t care what they asked you today, we’re still friends, right?"


The surgeon nodded her head slowly and then got out of the car. She couldn’t stand to be confined by the vehicle any longer and needed to be out in the open, free without any constraints. Garrett got out and headed into the lobby of the building, so thought of as home.


"Thanks, Rosie." Danni scurried across the seat and stood outside the door, ready to close it. "She’s had a tough day. I think it’s going to take some time for her to get it all together again. I’ll get her home, don’t worry."


The nurse closed the rear door of the car and followed the surgeon’s path.


There was a moment or two of silence in the car before either of the women spoke.


Rosie rolled her eyes then whistled a few notes slightly off key. "So, do you think Garrett is gay?"


"The only one that can answer that is Garrett. How about I let you be the one to ask her?" Mom stared at the driver of the car, challenging her to cross paths with the already emotionally charged woman.


"ME?" Rosie grabbed tightly onto the steering wheel and began shaking her head. "Don’t make no difference to me. She’s not my type anyway."


"Didn’t think you were a fool either, Rosie." Karen winked. "Either way, our Doc’s in good hands with Danni." The older nurse pried herself out of the front seat and closed the door of the car. She waved as Rosie pulled out into the flow of traffic. ‘God, Danni, I hope you get the answer you’re looking for.’



* * *

Once inside the building, the old façade of the stoic surgeon was pulled in place. The air of arrogance that accompanied it was evident by the aggressiveness displayed in her walk. Reaching the information desk in the lobby, Garrett picked up the house phone and called directly into the Intensive Care Unit that she had admitted Chris to earlier that morning. After a few brief words with Chris’s nurse, the phone was replaced on its cradle and Garrett charted her course for the elevators.


"Gar, wait up!" Danni’s short legs worked double time in an effort do so. The nurse finally reached her as they stepped onto the elevator together. "Is Chris alright?"


Garrett nodded her response, keeping her thoughts to herself.


"I’m sorry for what happened today. You didn’t deserve to be verbally battered by that…" Danni found herself becoming embittered with her resentment of the defense lawyer. "Why I should have just…"


Garrett turned a weary eye at the nurse, "Danni getting yourself thrown out of court would have done nothing to stop him. I’m a survivor, don’t you know that by now?"


"But it didn’t make it right, what he did, I mean."


"No, I agree but it wouldn’t have stopped him either. He had a job to do, I was the one in his way." Garrett shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn’t matter anyhow."


"Doesn’t matter! Doesn’t matter, it matters to me and it should matter to you, too." The nurse was letting go of some pent up steam.


"It’s over, Danni." Blue eyes looked into green letting the calm after the storm penetrate the blonde. "It’s over." Her words were but a whisper that gave way to the sound of the elevator doors opening on the ninth floor and the tall woman stepped out onto the floor.


"Gar, I thought you were going to check on Chris?" Danni looked puzzled. "Isn’t she in the ICU on the Fifth floor?"


"Yes, but the best medicine in the world for her, is here on the Ninth Floor."


"Gar, pharmacy is on the…" Then it hit Danni. "This is the observation floor. You’re going to take Marie down to see her, aren’t you?"


The surgeon’s eyebrow rose. "I always thought that you were a smart nurse." Garrett let the corners of her mouth turn upward. "First I’m going to check her out and discharge her. Then, I’ll take her to see Chris."


The petite woman smiled. "Mind if I tag along?"


"No, not at all." The surgeon turned and started down the hall. "I was kind of hoping that you would."


Danni fell in step as they continued down the hall to Marie’s room. The blonde wondered what had gotten into the surgeon, but thought it best not to ask.


"You seem to have a pretty good rapport with her, perhaps you should go in first." Garrett stopped outside the door to Marie’s room. "I’ll go to the nurse’s station and get her discharged."


"Okay, but what should I tell her?"


"You’ll know what to say, you always do." Garrett let the lopsided smile come forth for the first time all day, then went about her duties, leaving Danni standing alone at Marie’s door.


Knocking gently first, Danni entered. "Hey!" She smiled at the woman sitting in the bed. "Care for a little company this evening?"


Marie’s face brightened immediately, seeing who it was. "Nurse Danni, come on in." She looked past the blonde and waited for a moment before speaking again. "You didn’t bring anyone with you? I was hoping you might."


"If you’re talking about Gar, I did. She’ll be in after she gets your discharge papers going."


"Discharge? I’m being let go?"


"Yeah, this is only a 23 hour observation unit. We kept you here just to make sure that nothing was missed last night. Besides, with the blood that you lost it was a good idea to keep an eye on you for a while." Danni studied the face of the older woman. Her hazel eyes darted back and forth in a worried motion. "Marie, is something wrong?"


"Nothing, really. It’s just that I didn’t want to be at home without Chris."


"Hmmm…I think that we might be able to get you in to see her. How’s that?"


"You could? That would be great." Her mood definitely perked up at the possibility of seeing her lover. "Will it be alright?"


"Gar, will make it alright." Danni winked and walked over to the closet in the room. "Let’s see about getting you dressed to leave. What do you say?"


The nurse opened the closet door revealing nothing but empty hangers. "Well, looks like you might just have to stay here until morning with nothing to wear but that "air-conditioned" gown."


"Okay, Marie. You’re all set to get out of here." Garrett came bounding into the room. She was excited about getting the two women back together. "I’ve taken care of the paperwork and all you’ll have to do is sign them."


"Thank you, when can I see Chris?" Marie got up off the bed in anticipation of leaving.


"Whoa, wait a minute. Let me get a wheelchair first." The surgeon motioned her to sit back down. "You lost a lot of blood yesterday, don’t go getting up that fast."


"I’ll be fine once I see Chris."


"Gar, we got a little problem here." Danni motioned toward the empty closet.


"Hmmm…I see." She thought for a moment then held up an index finger. "I’ll be right back." Then as fast as she said it, she was gone.


The nurse just shook her head in total amazement of her friend as a smile slowly stretched across her face.


"She is a beautiful woman. You’re very lucky to have her as a friend." Marie sat watching Danni begin to blush.


"Well, she is fun to be around when there’s nothing pressing that needs her attention."


"I can see that. Well, speak of the devil."


Garrett entered the room with a set of O.R. Scrubs in her hand. "Well, they’re not a brand name, but at least you won’t feel a draft." She handed them over to Marie. "I took a guess on the size. If they don’t fit, I’ll…"


"Thank you, I’m sure that they will be fine." She held them up and measured them against her body. "Yep, couldn’t have picked better if I did it myself." Marie headed toward the bathroom. "I’ll go change."


Danni waited until Marie had closed the door before she pulled Garrett toward the hall. "Gar, I think she really doesn’t want to leave without Chris."


The surgeon puckered her lips and thought for a moment with her index finger tapping on them. "I have an idea. Let me go check out Chris myself. I’ll meet you two up there."


"Okay, but what are you going to do?"


"You’ll see." The tall surgeon winked and took off down the hall.



* * *

By the time that Danni had wheeled Marie to the ICU, a good twenty minutes had passed since she last set eyes on the surgeon. Stopping at the entrance to the ICU, the nurse picked up the courtesy phone and spoke to the nurse at the desk. Marie watched as Danni’s brow crinkled with lines as she listened to the voice over the receiver.


Starting to worry, the newly released patient fidgeted in her seat. "What’s wrong? Is something wrong with Chris?" The woman’s voice was full of concern.


"No, it seems that Dr. Trivoli thinks that it’s time to move Chris out of the ICU." Danni hung up the phone. "She’s in there ordering everybody around to get your friend moved. They want us to wait and accompany Chris to her new room."


"That’s good isn’t it?"


"Very good." Danni smiled and patted the woman’s shoulder.


No more than ten minutes passed by when the automatic doors of the ICU sprang into action. Danni instinctively pulled Marie’s wheelchair out of the way, knowing what to expect from the demanding surgeon. Marie’s mouth dropped open at the sight. There, pushing the bed herself was Garrett Trivoli. Her mouth spouted off orders as she moved ever-forward stopping for nothing and no one in her path. Danni hid her eyes and chuckled at the sight of the Charge Nurse from the ICU running after her, demanding to know want kind of medicine couldn’t be given in her ICU. The blonde nurse just shook her head as she listened to the surgeon’s reply.


"I told you before," Garrett’s strong voice bellowed, "it can’t be given in your ICU and I’m taking her to someplace that it can."


"I’ll…I’ll…" the flustered nurse was becoming winded.


"You seem to forget who the doctor is here. It’s me and I’m doing what is best for my patient. End of story." Garrett stopped only long enough to cast an evil eye at the ensuing nurse. "Do I make myself clear?" The surgeon’s eyebrow rose nearly into her hairline.


The Charge Nurse skidded to a stop. "Clear, yes, perfectly clear, Doctor Trivoli." She turned around and headed back into the unit, muttering as she did.


"I heard that, Nurse." The surgeon yelled over her shoulder. "The "R" for my middle initial does not stand for Royalpainintheass."


Danni and Marie could hear a muffled scream coming from the unit as the doors closed sealing the unit off from the outside world and found it impossible to keep from laughing.


"She is a card, I’ll say that."


Danni smiled, nodding her head as she started to follow the surgeon and bed ahead of her. "That, she is."