"Here’s the bag. What do you need?" Rosie set the bag on the ground, unzipping it quickly.


"Do you have a trach tube?" The surgeon was removing any clothing around the upper chest area of the downed man.


"Yeah, we do!" Danni assured her. "Give her a scalpel and some Betadine, too." The blonde nurse directed Rosie as she rummaged through the bag.


Within seconds, a small bottle of Betadine was handed to Danni. She quickly opened it and poured it onto the base of the man’s neck. Garrett had grabbed the offered 4x4’s and wiped the disinfectant off the front of the neck. Rosie offered the surgeon a pair of sterile gloves, which she easily donned. Danni had the tracheostomy tube unpacked and was testing the cuff for leaks with a 10cc syringe as the trauma surgeon made the first incision with the disposable scalpel.


"Karen, could you move a little to the left? You’re in my light." The surgeon looked up towards the sun.


"Oh, yeah! Sorry, not used to being out of the trauma rooms, Doc." The charge nurse answered a little short of breath as she sidestepped allowing the sunlight to illuminate the man’s neck. She grabbed a piece of the discarded 4x4-gauze wrapper and the pencil from behind her ear, settling into the job of charting the aid given to the downed man. She glanced at her watch, making a note of the time on the scrap paper.


"Let’s get an IV going, Ringers Lactate please." The surgeon’s eyes flicked to Rosie.


"Sure thing, Doc." The nurse laid the trach tube tie down on the patient’s chest.


The surgeon handed the used scalpel to Danni in exchange for the tracheostomy tube. She paused to wipe the trickle of blood from the incision with a piece of gauze before inserting the life saving apparatus into the new hole in the base of the patient’s neck. The blonde nurse connected the syringe to the tubing and inflated the small cuff with air to secure it from dislodging. Garrett held the tube in place as small skilled hands hastened to attach the tie-down to the tube and around the man’s neck. The man was breathing on his own with no sounds of stridor now. The color of the man’s skin was pinking up again attesting to the fact that the airway was secure.


"IV’s in!" Rosie proclaimed, "18 gauge in the left forearm with Ringers Lactate running at a KVO rate."


"Good, now let’s get a set of vital signs." The surgeon continued on with the secondary survey, searching for any other possible injuries to the downed man.


As Garrett reached to examine the torso of the man, Danni took the small cell phone from the surgeon’s belt and flipped it up to Karen. "Hey, Mom! Wanna get us an ride to the hospital?"


Karen caught the phone with ease, "Yeah, guess he can’t wait until the next inning is over, huh?" She fumbled slightly trying to open the small phone. Dialing the number 911 she waited for the dispatch operator to answer. She gave the nature of the emergency, the location and added that the site was that of the ER picnic. She assured the operator that highly trained personnel were taking care of the victim but that they needed an ambulance to get the patient to the hospital. She ended the call, flipping the phone shut. "They’ll be here soon."


"BP is 146 over 92." Danni was taking the stethoscope out of her ears.


"Pulse is 112 and strong, respiration 24 and regular." Rosie looked up at Dr. Trivoli.


"No other injuries found, all bones intact and abdomen soft." Garrett looked up at her makeshift team, "Good work, everyone."


Ian McCormick had ventured over to the group to lend a hand. Seeing that all was taken care of, he stood back and watched the nearly silent exchange of glances between the Trauma Surgeon and the small blonde nurse. Each one knowing what was on the mind of the other with only a word or two being spoken. It was something that he had not seen very often, especially within a few days of meeting someone. The ER attending pondered that thought and placed it into a file deep within the recesses of his mind for future reference.


The sound of the ambulance entering the picnic area was heard in the background, with it’s short blasts of the siren to clear a pathway up to the ballfield. Rosie replaced the equipment into the orange bag, zipping it shut.


She stood up and shouldered it once more. Karen finished her charting and walked over to the paramedic exiting the driver’s door. Exchanging a few words with the medics and giving up the makeshift chart in her hand, she waved at Rosie to come join her.


"Thanks for inviting me, Danni." The surgeon looked over at her friend. "You know that I’m going to have to go to the hospital with him, right?"


"Well, don’t think that I’m handing off to a medic, Doc." Her green eyes twinkling at the thought. "I’m going with him, too."


The surgeon nodded slightly and allowed the faint hint of a smile to come to her face. She was beginning to like this spunky little blonde nurse; maybe she should give this friendship thing a try.


The patient was loaded into the back of the ambulance with the one paramedic stepping around to the driver’s door. The other turned and looked at the two women. "Ladies, if you please." He offered his hand to Garrett.


The Surgeon raised an eyebrow towards her hairline and met the green eyes of the nurse. Each of them letting one corner of their individual mouths curling up into a smirk. Garrett turned to the paramedic, her eyes became steely blue in color and she began to open her mouth to speak. The nurse, choosing to be a diplomat, spoke up drawing the paramedic’s attention to herself. " Thanks for the offer, but I think we can handle this ourselves," a forced smile on her face as her nose wrinkled slightly.


The paramedic shrugged his shoulders, "Have it your way then." He stepped into the back of the ambulance. Then seating himself in the chair at the head of the stretcher, he began turning on the communication radio.


Danni scrambled up into the ambulance, her short legs stretching to reach the top step. She quickly sat down on the long crew bench opposite the patient and slide down its length, stopping at the area of the patient’s chest. The surgeon was a step behind her, easily accessing the inside of the ambulance with her tall frame. She obviously had no trouble in closing the double doors at the rear of the ambulance, making sure that they were locked before she slid further up the bench. The nurse began to attach the patient to the electronic monitoring devices onboard in preparation for the ride to the hospital. Seeing that both women were seated, the paramedic signaled the driver to start the journey to the Trauma Center. "Let’s make it a nice and easy ride, Pat."


The driver looked up into the rearview mirror and gave a short two fingered half salute to her partner. "Nice and easy, gottcha!" She paused momentarily to look in the mirror, giving a quick wink and subtle nod. She was going to give the hospital people a ride that they wouldn’t forget any time soon. She watched as her fellow paramedic stepped out of her line of vision and back into his seat. Putting the gear selector into drive, she slowly eased out of the grassy area of the park. A devilish grin appeared on her face as her hand slipped over several of the master control buttons on the panel to her right.


Garrett looked over to the monitoring devices, taking in all the information that they offered her about the patient. In this age of technology, these high tech luxuries were standards of care in the larger cities, thereby giving the paramedics the time and free hands to deliver more advanced life saving care to the patient. It made her think of the times she had served on the community ambulance during her college years. Less than fifteen years ago, but it seemed like centuries. Back then, everything was done by hand to obtain the patient’s vital signs; except for the cardiac monitor, those big and bulky LifePaks that it took one person alone to carry.


"Little bump," was heard as the driver cautioned the rear passengers. The rig was going over the curb into the parking area for the ballfield. Slowly it crawled forward. The driver’s front tire being the first to descend to the asphalt lot. Each tire individually and with no steady rhythm dropped to the level of the parking lot. The constant shifting of the ambulance made for a continuing sway in the back of the rig long after the curb was gone.


The Ex-Flight Surgeon smiled as she remembered the feel of the ship under her body. It brought to mind her days in the Navy. Funny how your mind could be stimulated by something as simple as a gentle rocking motion, she mused, as she thought about her first day onboard ship. The crew had warned her that it would take a few days for her to get her sea legs. Boy, were they right! She chuckled now to herself as she remembered looking like a drunken sailor, staggering from side to side just trying to walk across the deck that first day.


The touch of the small hand grabbing her leg interrupted Garrett’s thoughts. She looked over to see Danni using all of her extremities to try to stop the swaying motion of her petite body. The nurse’s head was bobbing back and forth, a pensive look coming across her face. Small droplets of perspiration were surfacing on her upper lip and forehead. The surgeon placed her hand on to her friend’s back in an attempt to steady her, "Are you alright?"


The blonde nurse mustered a slight smile and looked at the doctor, "Yeah, I just forgot how bouncy these rigs are." She swallowed several times, her eyes darting between the paramedic and the surgeon. Her hand left its position on Garrett’s leg, slowly bringing it up to wipe the moisture on her upper lip. Nervously she asked "Is it getting warm in here?"