Her eyes gazed over the front of the envelope, searching for some clue as to whom the sender was. The large looped fancy scroll of the writing was all that she needed to see. She had seen that style of penmanship all of her life. She quickly opened it and set about reading the card from her parents, more specifically, her mother. The Christmas card was of her usual type, the kind that automatically told you who it was from after reading the few words across the front of it. Somehow after all these years, "Merry Christmas to Our Daughter" seemed like a dead giveaway.

Danni’s brow furrowed as she opened the card to reveal the standard printed sentiments on the inside. Instead of the usual scrolling of "Love, Mother and Dad," there were a few sentences penned before it. ‘I guess that I’m still being reprimanded for missing Thanksgiving Dinner with them.’ Her eyes quickly skimmed across the message. Bewildered by the conveyed thoughts, she reread them, only this time aloud as she tried to understand them more fully. "We hope that your plans will include visiting us on Christmas Eve. The family would love to meet your friend, Garrett. If at all possible, please attend. Love, Mother and Dad." ‘By the gods, it sounds like they are summoning me home. Hmm…but why with Garrett?’

"Hey, Dan, where do you keep your…" Garrett saw the deep thought that was etching itself across the younger woman’s brow. "Something wrong?" She motioned toward the card that was still in Danni’s hand. "Pretty special looking card there." The surgeon’s eyebrow rose slightly.

"Huh? Oh, this. No, it’s my Mother’s usual Christmas card, just not her usual penned phrase this year."

"You still taking heat about working on Thanksgiving?" Garrett sounded concerned. ‘Jeez, I know that she did that for me.’

"No," she smirked. "The funny thing is, that’s what I expected. Here take a look at it." Danni handed the card over. "Mother hasn’t mentioned a thing about Thanksgiving to me."

The surgeon read through the card then pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Gee, Danni, you’ll have to give your mother my apologies for not being able to attend."

"You’re working Christmas Eve? I thought you told me that you were covering Christmas Day." ‘Great! Tell me I volunteered to work sixteen hours on the wrong day.’

Garrett smiled, chuckling as she answered. "I felt bad for Nathan and Rene both. I told Nathan I’d cover for him on Christmas Eve from 1800 hours on so he could go home for Christmas." She shrugged. "I figured that it was the least that I could do for them. Besides, I’ll get to treat some real patients for a day and a half."

"McMurray and the Board are all right with that? I mean…they’re going to let you?"

"Not much that they could do. They needed someone here and since I don’t have any family to go home to, it was the only logical choice." ‘But it will be like going home to family for me.’ Garrett thought of the assortment of characters that comprised her new family. ‘Yeah, and with you there for sixteen hours, I’ll really feel at home.’

"Humph! Well, I guess I’ll let Mother know that it will be just me coming home for Christmas Eve." The blonde looked thoughtful as she concentrated on the strange smell coming from the kitchen. "Say, what are you making for dinner, anyway?" She sniffed at the air. "Almost smells like…"

Garrett sniffed at the air also. "Oh, damn!" Then took off for the kitchen, all thoughts of Christmas now forgotten.

Danni chuckled. ‘I’m sure glad that she has other talents to fall back on.’ "Hey, Gar! You better not quit your day job. I don’t think that there’s too much need for Chefs that specialize in Blackened cooking." ‘Besides I bet I could find a few things for you to do with those skilled hands of yours.’ The nurse just shook her head. ‘Where did that come from?’

She picked up the few cards that were left to open and quickly busied her hands as if they would get her mind thinking about something other than the talented surgeon. With the last card left to open, her mind was once again thinking of the Christmas holiday to come with memories stirred by family and good friends. ‘You know, this writing looks vaguely familiar.’ Danni thought of a few people that it could belong to but dismissed all of them. Her curiosity now piqued, she opened it. A softly broadening smile came across her face. ‘David! Isn’t that thoughtful of him? He still hasn’t forgotten us.’

Garrett had stuck her head into the doorway from the kitchen, when she noticed the beaming smile of her young friend. ‘I wonder if that smile is because I’m making dinner tonight?’ Then she noticed the card that the blonde was holding and glancing down at. ‘Whoever sent that card must be somebody special by the look on her face.’ She felt an overpowering urge to be jealous but couldn’t think of why or whom she should be jealous of. ‘Let it go, Garrett. She’s got her own life. Not everything revolves around you.’

"You ready to eat?" She waited for an answer as she watched the young woman before her eyes, as Danni’s mind was a million miles away. "Danni, dinner’s ready."

"Huh? Oh yeah, dinner. I’ll be right there, Gar." She motioned with her head as she glanced over in the dark-haired woman’s direction. ‘I’m going to have to tell Mom and Rosie about the card the next time that I see them.’ She put the card down on top of the pile and went toward the kitchen.

Danni looked around the kitchen as she stood in the doorway. The lighting had been reduced to only the glow of the light from the rangehood, giving the room a moody atmosphere of mystery. The table was set with two place settings and food was neatly piled on the plates. "Safe to come in?" Her eyes swept the room for the tall surgeon. ‘Hmmm…I wonder if the lighting is to hide the burnt offerings or to lessen the stress of the day that we had?’

Garrett came in from the door at the rear of the kitchen, a bottle of wine in her hand. "Brrr! It’s cold out there. I figured that it would take less time than the fridge to chill this down outside." She took one look at the amazed blonde and held the bottle up in offering to her. "I thought some wine would go nicely with the meal. Besides, it will help us relax and get some sleep tonight." She pushed the door closed and locked it. "Nothing goes better with spaghetti than a little wine. What do you say?"

"Spaghetti? You made spaghetti."

"Well, my last name is Trivoli." The surgeon laughed as she began pouring the wine into glasses.

"But I didn’t think…I…" The nurse looked over at the cupboard next to the counter where her pantry was. ‘I know that I didn’t have any spaghetti sauce. Where’d she…’

"Come on, sit down and eat before it gets cold."

Danni did as she was instructed taking note of the table and its settings. The nurse was learning something new about her friend. ‘I’m impressed. She even has the knack of setting a pleasantly looking table. I guess she’s just full of all sorts of hidden talents.’ She looked at the spaghetti that was so neatly arranged on the plate in front of her, the aroma of which wafted up, filling her senses. She closed her eyes to concentrate, trying to analyze the many intermingled scents that filled the air.

Garrett watched her friend closely as she sat down at her place and quietly drew her chair in closer to the table. She studied the expression on the young woman’s face, eager to find out if she would be pleased with the offering. ‘Well, it’s not dad’s sauce but it can’t be too bad. Heck, I watched him make it often enough, I should have remembered something.’

Finally the nurse opened her eyes to see the tall woman across from her become a little startled and grab for her napkin, quickly unfolding it to lay across her lap. The rapidly flicking motion of the surgeon’s eyes was a dead give away that she had been watching the blonde intently. Danni only smiled coyly, the skin around her eyes wrinkling slightly at the outer corners. ‘Well, it looks and smells good. I bet she’s anxious. Hmm… how cute that apprehension is on her face. I bet many people haven’t seen that side of her before.’ She picked up her fork and twirled a small bite on the tines. The nurse glanced up to see Garrett once again watching, and smiled graciously at her as she brought the fork full of spaghetti to her mouth. ‘Okay, no matter what it tastes like, I’m not going to…’ She placed the food into her mouth as she deftly slipped the fork out and began to chew. ‘By the gods,’ she looked over at eagerly waiting eyes. ‘This is…’

The anticipation was too much. Garrett quickly let her eyes shift from the young woman’s face to the plate of spaghetti and back again. "What?" She was getting worried now. ‘Jeez! Tell me that I forgot something.’ Her mind quickly went down the list of ingredients that she had used in the sauce. ‘I know that it’s been a while since I’ve made any. No, I didn’t miss anything that could be detrimental to it.’

The blonde stopped chewing and swallowed. ‘What could she have used for this?’ Her mind was trying to put together some kind of idea. She saw the concerned look on Garrett’s face and couldn’t help but giggle.

‘Gosh, she’s laughing at it now. I must have done something wrong.’ The surgeon speedily twirled a forkful and placed it in her own mouth. The delicate tastes burst forth across her palate as she searched for the cause of her friend’s reaction. It was getting just too much now. She had to know. "What?" She asked as she tried to swallow.

Danni face lit up and her smile showed brightly. ‘I’ve never seen her so concerned. She’s not even this worried when she’s got somebody’s life oozing out all over the place.’ She reached out and placed her hand on Garrett’s trying to calm her fear. "It’s okay. Great, if you really want to know." She smirked. "I just can’t figure out what you used to make it."