Steve spun around to see Dr. Trivoli next to him, reaching for a lead apron. "Looks like we are going for a record today."


The surgeon looked at him, her eyebrow raising, "Just my luck, too." She was tired from lack of sleep and by the looks of things, the prospect of her getting any shut-eye tonight was nonexistent. For once in her life, Garrett wished that there would be nothing more to do; no patients in need of her skills. Mindlessly she dressed in the gown, mask, and gloves, waiting for the traumatized patient to arrive.


"Trauma’s in the department, Trauma’s in the department."


The squawking of the overhead voice brought her back to the present. The surgeon shot a questioning look at the nurse next to her.


Noting the bewildered look on her face, Steve leaned in toward her jogging her memory with the whispered words. "Multiple stab wounds."


She nodded her head, now remembering the report that was given with the trauma alert. Mentally she prepared herself for another grueling session in the O.R. suite. She looked up at the clock on the wall, it was only 1752. ‘Only twelve more hours to go,’ she thought. ‘How many more can we possibly get?’


*****************


Danni lingered at her computer, reading through her E-mails. It was close to the time that she should be leaving for work, but she wanted to leave a note for Garrett just in case the night became too hectic. She thought about her roommate and her troubled sleep, wanting to help her in any way that she could.


Garrett,


I’m off on the weekend and would like to spend some time relaxing. If you are able to, we could take in a movie or go for a drive out in the country to look at the fall foliage. I know some great roads that offer wonderful scenery this time of the year. I’d love to show them to you. Let me know if this is possible.


Danni


"There, that should make it sound like I need the rest and relaxation." Her nose wrinkled as she smiled. "The only way to get her to take it easy is to make her think that I need it. Well, so be it." With only her friend’s best interest at heart, she struck the enter key, sending the E-mail on its way.


Danni noticed the time on her computer, it was 1815. "Damn, I’m going to be late if I don’t hurry." She quickly shut down her terminal and gathered her knapsack and keys. She walked briskly through the house as she pulled her coat on. Opening the door, her eyes scanned the horizon. ‘Well, it doesn’t look like any storm hit today while I slept. Hmmm…I wonder if it passed us by.’ The small woman shrugged her shoulders, then made her way to her car parked several spaces down the street. She entered it, and turned the key in the ignition. Using the moment to check her appearance in the vanity mirror, she let the engine warm up. Securing her seatbelt in place, the young woman looked up and down the street then hastily pulled out of the parking space on her way to work.


*************


Rosie stood adjusting her scrubs as the door opened and a small blonde figure darted in hurriedly, making her way to the locker that housed her apparel for work. The nurse had finished putting the stethoscope around her neck when she eyed her friend’s rushed mannerisms. "You running late or just that anxious to get in to work?" She shook her head. "You got time. Besides, I understand that Garrett just took a trauma patient up to surgery about a half an hour ago."


"Oh!" She cleared her throat. "You are just coming on, right?" Danni wondered how Rosie had known about Garrett’s whereabouts.


"Yep, but I ducked in and looked at the assignment board first. That’s when I heard them talking about how bad it’s been with traumas today." She closed her locker door and turned to face her friend. "You and me in trauma, it should be a good night," she smiled.


The petite nurse quickly dressed, pulled her necessary accessories off of the shelf, and closed the locker. "So, I guess I’m Trauma One, huh?"


Rosie laughed, "You better believe it. I was that last night, remember?"


Danni slide into her shoes. "Yeah, I hope the night isn’t too busy." She hoped with all her heart for her friend’s sake. She stood upright and made a final adjustment to her pants, "Well, let’s get out there."


The taller nurse sauntered over to the door, holding it open she motioned for the woman to advance through it. "Age before beauty…er…I mean…after you," she joked. Danni just smiled and shook her head.


They went down the hall through the main entrance of the E.R. where a stern-looking charge nurse met them. Karen sat at the desk peering over her reading glasses at the two nurses. She motioned to her watch and gave a dissatisfied frown. That was all she did, words were not necessary to convey her meaning.


"We must be a minute late," Rosie whispered.


"Shh! She’ll hear you," Danni turned and whispered back. "Sorry, Mom." Her face full of innocence as she watched Karen begin to smile, causing them all to giggle.


"You two like to push it to the last second, don’t you?" Karen shuffled the papers on the desk. "I’ve been waiting to see you two."


The bewildered nurses looked at each other, each one trying to think of what they could have possibly done wrong. They approached the older nurse cautiously. "You wanted to see us about what, Mom?" Rosie always used the term of endearment, hoping that it would lessen any possible problems.


The charge nurse sighed. "Why do you always think that it’s something bad? Hmmm? Is there something you need to worry about?" She eyeballed the taller nurse, waiting to see if she offered any information.


"No, nothing to worry about. Honest!" The answer came back quickly from the small blonde.


"Yeah, right. What she said," the auburn-haired nurse said, pointing to the blonde. The look on her face was one of complete, forced innocence.


Karen rolled her eyes, "You two are going to be the death of me." Each of the nurses smiled trying her best not to laugh. "I just wanted you to help Steve finish up his paperwork on the traumas, so that he can get out of here at a reasonable time. He’s had a pretty busy day." She used her hands to shoo them along. "He’s in the back, now go. Danni…"


"I know, Mom, I’m Trauma One, I’ll get report too." She smiled at the older nurse, then turned and headed down the hall.


Karen winked, "That’s my girls!" She watched them with the loving eyes of a mother.


They rounded the corner to see Steve sitting at the long desk, mounds of papers stacked in neat piles lining its length. The male nurse looked as though he had waged a long and tiring battle with the gods that controlled the flow of traumas. The expression on his face was one of relief when he saw his co-workers coming over to him. "Thank god!" He clasped his hands together in mock prayer. "My prayers have been answered. Finally this day from hell is over." He made no attempt to conceal his disdain for the last 12 hours of work.


"I’m your actual relief. Anything I need to know about?" The petite blonde studied his face. It was drawn and tired looking. Danni wondered how badly her roommate looked at this point. She accepted the trauma team pager from him and clipped it to her scrub pants after she cleared the previously issued pages.


Exhausted, Steve shook his head. "Nothing coming in at this time. I just have to send off all of the paper work." He motioned to the desk full of piled papers. "It’s been so busy, I haven’t had the time to get to it." He sighed deeply. "I hate to stick you with it."


Holding her hand up, Danni spoke. "We’ll take care of it. You just go and head home."


Steve got up to leave. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He slowly started down the hall to the locker room.


"Hey, Steve! Be careful on your way home, we wouldn’t want you coming in as a trauma now, would we?" Rosie yelled after him to get his attention. The tired man just kept on walking, glad to have a chance to go home to relax. She turned to her fellow nurse, "I guess he can’t take a joke." They laughed openly and started in on the task at hand.


***************


The tall surgeon trudged from the doctor’s lounge with a cup of dark, black coffee in her hand. She slowly brought it up to her mouth, praying with each sip that it would keep her awake. She was amused that last night when she could sleep, she hadn’t been able to, and now when it was imperative that she be awake, able to function at a moment’s notice, she could barely keep her eyes open. She could try for some shut-eye but she was afraid that she would not wake up when the trauma pager went off. "By the gods!" She looked down at the beeping pager. "Not again!"


The crackling voice began its recital. "Trauma page, Trauma page. Twenty-year-old male patient unrestrained passenger involved in a minor MVA. Level 2 trauma page. ETA 5 minutes to your facility via ambulance."


Glancing at her watch, she shook her head and wondered when it would all stop. It was only 1953 and already she had seen a total of 15 traumas since 0600. She could feel herself becoming tired and irritable. ‘Perhaps this night will be over soon,’ she thought. ‘Yeah, fat chance of that.’ With that thought in mind she chugged down the remainder of the coffee, praying that it would do the job. She paused only long enough to dispose of the now empty Styrofoam cup before making her way down to the Trauma Room to await the next patient’s arrival.