The coach’s mouth dropped open and she pointed towards the mound. "No…they…wouldn’t!" She was finally able to stammer out.


The young nurse quickly turned to see what was bothering Karen. There, walking on to the mound was Garrett Trivoli. Ian was flicking the ball in her direction. Jamie patted Dr. McCormick on the shoulder as they walked off of the mound together. Ian headed to the bench as a young emergency medicine resident ran out to center field. Jamie adjusted her facemask into place and stooped down into the catcher’s position. Garrett was mentally preparing for her new role as a pitcher.


Danni turned to look at Karen, her eyes as big as saucers. "I…I…" she started to apologize.


Karen just gritted her teeth saying, "Your ‘Amazon’!"


The young nurse balled her hands into fists, bringing them down onto her hips. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself. ‘I’ll get to know you better than I know myself before this year is done. You just wait, Garrett, just wait and see.’ Her eyes were locked on to the tall dark haired surgeon.


"Batter up!" The umpire cried.


John sauntered into the batter’s box. He looked directly at the surgeon as if to challenge her. He positioned himself and waited for her to make the next move.


Karen yelled at Danni, "If you hear the sound of a hit, you just put that head of yours down and run like hell for home."


The petite woman standing on third base nodded her head in acknowledgement. Determined more than ever, she positioned herself to charge at home plate at the first sound of a hit.


John watched the first pitch as it crossed the plate. It was high and inside, ball one. The next pitch was coming right through the strike zone. John quickly swung the bat in a powerful arc, impacting the ball with a loud noise. "Wham-boing." John hurriedly took off running for first base.


The young blonde nurse charged off of third base determined to capture home plate, her gaze locked onto her goal.


Garrett watched as the ball veered off from the impact where it had caused the bat to break into pieces. The momentum of her body kept her moving toward the advancing base runner in an attempt to divert a disaster. The young nurse was unaware of the danger about to descend upon her. After several long swift strides the surgeon thrust her body into the air reaching out with her long arms to grab the small nurse from behind, twisting to pull her effectively out of the path of the rampant odd shaped wooden fragments of the bat.


"Hey, what the…" the shortstop was confused. One minute she had been running toward home plate and the next she was being pushed and pulled through the air. Her vision turned skyward with a strange silhouette passing quickly in front of the clouds. ‘Was that a bird with no wings or what? Why was it so close?’ First Garrett landed on the ground then the bewildered body of Danni followed; the surgeon was cushioning the impact. Both women lay on the ground in a heap, dazed for a few seconds as the ballgame continued around them.


The line drive had gone straight up the middle and was easily caught by the second baseman. With Nan staying on first base, the infielder diverted his attention to third base. He knew that Danni had taken off from the base as soon as the hit was made, she had not waited to tag up after the ball was caught. The ball was thrown to the third baseman that stepped onto the bag. All eyes turned to the Umpire in anticipation of the call.


"You’re out!" He yelled as his body animated the call.


Karen ran over to check on her small blonde coworker who was lying with her head on the larger woman’s midsection. Rosie was a step behind in reaching the human heap on the ground. The two nurses stopped simultaneously as they overshadowed the reposed figures. Each stole a glare at the other and slowly started to chuckle. It was so cute. The two looked as though they were children who had simply gotten tired out while playing and fell asleep.


"Yep, one ‘Amazon’ added to that collection." Mom was saying under her breath.


"Danni! Garrett! Are you alright?" Rosie was kneeling down next to the entwined bodies.


Danni was starting to mumble as she squinted up into the sunlight, "Did somebody get the license of that truck?"


"No truck, just me." Garrett offered. "Sorry, but I didn’t want that bat to get you in the head." The surgeon was now slowly starting to release herself from the young nurse. "You hurt at all?"


The blonde rolled her head and shoulders as she sat upright. "No, I’m fine, everything feels good." Realizing that she had landed on top of the tall surgeon, "You make a pretty soft cushion, Doc."


The raven-haired surgeon raised her eyebrow at Danni as she dusted herself off. "You’re welcome."


Garrett grasped the outstretched hand offered by the shortstop, "Thanks!"


"Same here, thanks!"


They each began to smile as one helped the other to their feet. Blue eyes meeting green in a gaze of appreciation for the friendship that was both offered and accepted.


"I ought to tar and feather you both for scaring the living daylights out of me." Karen snapped trying hard not to smile. Inside she was a big softy but for appearances sake she was a stern faced ogre. After all, wasn’t that the way all charge nurses were thought of?


Acting like two pouting children the dust covered figures lowered their heads saying, "Sorry, Mom."


The coach just rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. "Glad I’m not doing your laundry."


Rosie lost it. She could not hold back the laughter as she moved in to help dust off her coworkers. "Don’t let her get to you. She was called Mudball in her younger days. She’s just mad cause you didn’t score, that’s all." With that, all three burst into laughter.


The revelry was disturbed by the sound of electronic chirping. The cellphone clipped onto the surgeon’s shorts had come to life. She retrieved it from its holder and flipped open the cover as she brought it up to her ear.


"Hello, Trivoli here." The gentle laughter still clung to her voice.


"Having a good time, I see. I hope you are throwing yourself into this, Dr. Trivoli. I’d hate to see us not having any ties to the E.R." McMurray was always thinking of how his department interacted with the rest of the hospital.


"Well, actually I seem to be doing just that, throwing myself into the game here." She chuckled as her hand brushed more dirt away from her clothing. "You might say that I’m getting down and dirty with some of the nursing staff." Her eyes began to look around, making sure that no one was listening to her conversation.


"Good then, I like when my surgeons become part of the team." There was a smug sound to his voice.


Garrett’s attention was drawn by noises coming from the crowd. She began to search for the source of the raised voices and harsh words that were coming from the group of spectators at the right of home plate. Her gaze came to rest on two men who were visibly in disagreement over something. Each one in a defensive stance, angers now turning to rage. Shoves were exchanged as the crowd around them backed away. One of the combatants turned to leave but was abruptly spun around and a fist thrown into his neck. The man staggered slowly, dropping to his knees as he clenched at his throat and gasped for breath. Shrill, high-pitched wheezing now evident with each intake for air. The attacker slowly stepped back. Once over the momentary shock of his actions, the man darted into the crowd to get away as the injured man slumped onto the ground. The altercation had lasted only a minute but would evidently take more time than that to recover from the damage that had been inflicted to the limp figure sprawled on the grass.


"Sorry, Sir, we’ve got a problem here. I’ve got to go now." The surgeon’s voice trailed off as her eyes stared into the crowd. She ended her conversation and automatically closed her cellphone and replaced it into the holder. Her body was starting to go into motion, making her way toward the site of the altercation.


Rosie was still trying to dust off her small friend when she felt the body under her hand tensing up. Danni noticed that the surgeon had gone silent and looked over at her. She followed the direction of Garrett’s eyes into the crowd of spectators. The nurse saw the injured man slumping onto the grass.


"Rosie, get the medical bag." Danni yelled as she broke into a run following Garrett’s lead in the direction of the injured man.


The nurse quickly pivoted towards Danni’s fading voice. Seeing the crumpled body on the ground, Rosie realized the urgency and reacted. Dashing over to the bench, she grabbed the carry strap on the bright orange over stuffed bag and shouldered it. "Mom, we got a man down! We’re gonna need some help."


The coach turned in Rosie’s direction, throwing the line-up rooster that she had been studying in the air. "Where…. Who…?" her words were sharp. The not-so-in-shape Karen followed after the tall nurse heading into the spectators. There she could see Danni and Garrett kneeling next to a man lying on the ground. She knew by the actions what was taking place, the man was having a difficult time breathing. ‘Awww, shit! We can’t even get away from work at the annual picnic.’ She thought to herself as she continued onward, the sound of the man’s stridor growing louder with each step.