It was there, in the first emergency room that her brother was in, that she had made her mind up to be a nurse. Not just any old nurse, but the best and most skilled one that she could be. She always thought that she owed her brother a thank you for introducing her to the profession she loved and had brought so much joy to her. In fact, Danni made a mental note to thank him the next time she talked to him, but who would know when that would be. They were older now and with lives of their own. Twenty years had flown by and now they were both adults and living in separate cities. It wasn’t just the years that had them growing apart, but rather Danni’s choice of life at the cabin, out of the reach of all the materialistic goals that her mother tried setting for her, that had lost most of the ties of their teen years. She found the simple life with her Grandfather during the summer months to be so much more enjoyable than the loneliness of the city and her family for that matter. Her mother was always trying to push her daughters into meeting only the most promising young men from well-to-do families, thinking that only money could buy them happiness. She wanted a life of success for her daughters and in her mind that meant running a house and raising a family. Danni’s parents had always gauged their children’s success by the status that they lavished with on the social circuit. Unfortunately, she was never one to rise to the occasion of parties and dating with her classmates. She left that to her younger sister, Breanna, whom was seen as more favorable and brilliant in their eyes with her many interested suitors all vying to wear her on their arms. The bond of sisters was still between them, but each had always listened to their own hearts. Now, they all had grown and gone there separate ways. Matt was with his friends now, all working in law firms, Breanna with her boyfriend Marc who eventually became her husband, fathering her first child on their wedding night and Danni, mostly by herself, always wanting something that would make her feel whole.


Her mother never approved of her choice in careers, saying that it was beneath someone of her upbringing to be a servant to sick people. Her mother never understood her or her needs: to be giving and compassionate to a total stranger. That would always be a bone of contention between them. Her mother viewed this job as one without rewards or a decent income. Thinking that she needed more time to come into her own with men, her mother agreed to let her go to Nursing School but only if it were at a college that was attractive to the right elements, namely males of good breeding and money. Secretly, she feared that her mother still prayed that it would lead to her rightful position in society, by landing her a well-established physician to marry. Danni could never see herself as the arm piece of anyone, nor would she flourish being treated as someone’s lesser half.


The blonde nurse was brought back from her thoughts by the voice of the woman across from her, commanding the placement of the patient. Once the stretcher was in position beside the gurney, the Trauma Fellow disconnected the bag from the tube that was securing the patient’s airway. "Okay, on my count," her eyes sweeping the length of the patient for any possible problems with the move. "One, two, three!" The size of the patient was evident by the ease of the move as he was lifted on the long board over to the trauma room gurney. The mechanical act of breathing was again resumed for the patient by the respiratory therapist positioned at the head of the bed.


Extending her arm, Garrett arched her body overtop of the now patientless stretcher as she adjusted the earpieces of her stethoscope listening for lung sounds to assure her that the breathing tube was in the proper place. She moved the sensitive device from one side of his chest to the other.


"I want a chest X-ray now," the surgeon bellowed out as she rose to her full height. Stepping back slightly to allow the flight crew to depart with their equipment, she caught the harried pace of Dr. Kreger and his patient being moved briskly through the hallway to the elevators. Their eyes met for a second. The silent exchange was acknowledged by the slightest of nods on each of their parts and each one’s attention quickly returning to their own patient at hand.


Garrett moved closer to her patient as she reached over to the neck area to check for a carotid pulse. She glanced over to the tracing on the heart monitor, assuring herself that the weak pulse she felt under her fingertips was indeed the patient’s and not her own. "Let’s get blood hung on the rapid infuser." The surgeon’s gaze riveted to the medic at the end of the bed, "What the hell happened?"


The exasperated medic snapped back, "He was a rear seat passenger, that was partially ejected through the windshield of the SUV. It was a head-on with a tractor trailer, that’s what stopped him, doc." The medic grew pale as he gulped and continued. "We had to get his head out of the truck’s grille."


An eyebrow arched high under the dark hair of the tall surgeon. "Karen, get me…"


Her words were cut off; "I have neurosurgery called already."


"Then get me a…"


"Scanner’s ready and waiting, doc." The charge nurse motioned to the CT Tech standing patiently in the hallway outside of the trauma room.


"Chest X-ray is out," the technologist informed.


Garrett stepped back, "finish up on that blood work. X-ray, get me a lateral C-spine and abdomen." She turned and walked into the hallway and then over to the electronic viewer. She carefully studied the chest x-ray that was displayed on the screen. ‘The tube is in a good location, no apparent fractures or pneumothorax,’ she pondered. She sidestepped and looked back into the trauma room.


"Dr. Trivoli," the experienced CT Tech tried to get her attention.


"HMMMM," she muttered as she turned her head toward the voice, while her eyes remained observant of the activity around the patient.


"Head, chest and abdomen scans?" She asked staring up at the doctor’s face, full of concern.


Nodding her head in agreement, "Yes, but that may change after we see the head."


"Okay, doc, whenever you’re ready."


"Just give us enough time for those X-rays and we’ll be right over," the surgeon glanced over at the technologist who was walking back to her scanner. ‘It’s nice to have experienced people to work with,’ she thought as her eyes moved between the two nurses in her room.


The sound of the loud speaker again was heard, "Trauma’s in the Department, Trauma’s in the Department."


Within seconds of the announcement, a stretcher was whisked around the corner and toward the beckoning motion of the E.R. Physician in front of the third trauma room. Jamie Potter, red hair flaring out from around the mask/shield combination that she wore, stood there waiting for them to transverse the distance to her. The young doctor’s attention stayed solely on the patient lying on the stretcher. Her assessment began with that initial moment. The experiences that she had gained in the few short years of being an attending in the metropolitan city hospital setting were evident. Her attention was on the patient as she absorbed the exchange of information from the medic. The cries of pain not only attested to the anguish of the patient’s torment, but also assured her that his airway was patent. With the blanket removed from the lower extremities, Dr. Potter could see the evidence of trauma to the man’s legs. The odd angularity of his right ankle caused her to wince at the sight of it.


"Call Ortho down," she commanded as she readied the team for the careful transfer of the injured patient. "Okay, nice and gentle now. One, two, three."


The patient was settled on the gurney, as a string of curses rolled off of his lips that would make a sailor blush. The anger and the intensity of his pain were fully realized by the facial expressions that he displayed to convey his emotions. His hands reached out as if to soothe and steady his aching limb, only to find them restrained by the belts that secured him to the long board he was lying on. Breathing hard and ragged in an effort to control his pain, the patient’s right hand grasped the gloved hand of the nurse as she released the board; his terror-filled eyes shifting to lock onto hers.


"Give me something for the fucking pain, will you! You’ve got drugs here."


His gaze seemed to burn a hole through the insecure nurse as she attempted to remove her hand from his grasp. Lori looked over to Jamie, her eyes silently pleading for help.


The physician leaned into the patient’s line of sight to get his attention. "Sir, we know that you are in pain, just give us a minute to find out what all hurts. I need to know where you hurt first before I can give you something to take the edge off that pain." Her left hand slowly traveled down the man’s arm until her gentle touch conveyed her sincerity as she held on to his hand. "Now let us do our jobs. Okay?" She asked.


With that the man’s grip weakened, allowing the slender hand to withdraw. The tall blonde nurse gently rubbed her hand trying to forget the memory of the vice-like grip that had held on to it.


The tension and strain of the situation was evident on the faces of the Flight Crew, as they made their way back down the hallway to finish their report. The short, thin medic walked over to the Trauma Fellow who was now studying the X-rays displayed on the viewer.