Garrett jumped up into the open door of the helicopter then extended her hand out to Danni. "Sounds like a plan to me."



* * *

The morning had been pleasant with only a handful of stops to make. Each E.R. Director that they had met with today seemed eager to bring the new service to the attention of their staff, often taking them personally on the tour of the department. The staff would first show signs of hesitancy for fear of their jobs, but once it was explained that this was a specialized team for only the worst of traumas, they soon became friendlier. Nobody wanted to see a traumatized patient die, and if there was some way to prevent it, they wanted to know.


The rides to and from each stop were filled with small talk and teasing as the trio settled into a nice pattern of friendly bantering, each one in turn being teased. The mixture of personalities hadn’t surprised the nurse, but what did was the ease with which Garrett had taken Cowboy into her small circle of friends. Danni supposed that it may have been the shared experience of the military service that bonded them together, but she was happy that her friend was showing signs of her humanity. The cold aloofness that Garrett had exhibited the day before had Danni worried that all of her groundbreaking strides would be reversed. But it hadn’t, and the petite nurse was grateful for it. Before any of them realized it, the helicopter was touching down on their home base. Danni’s mission was over and she had proven herself to everyone, including herself.



* * *

Danni made the last of her phone calls before she slumped back into the chair, her sigh loud enough for the surgeon to hear.


"You’re done?" The monotone voice came complete with a raised eyebrow.


"Yep! All ten of the lone survivors that we needed to talk to have been contacted. I think it’s going to be a pretty good turnout on Saturday." Danni sat up straighter. "You getting nervous about it yet?"


"It’s not like I’m going to run the meeting. What should I be nervous about?"


Danni shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t know. Maybe ‘cause it’s your project?"


"Our project, Danni." Garrett corrected her. "You’re as much a part of this as I am." The surgeon studied her friend. "You getting nervous about tonight?"


The nurse wrinkled her nose. "Well, maybe. I mean…I’ve never been up in the helicopter at night. How does he see to land in the dark?"


Garrett smiled at Danni’s honesty. "It’s all by radar. You don’t have to see anymore. Don’t worry, Danni, I’ll be right there with you."


"That’s what I was hoping for." The nurse’s eyes twinkled in delight. "Who wants to be alone at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?"


"Well, you’ll have me and Cowboy for company." Garrett thought for a moment. "If that’s alright with you?"


The blonde nodded and smiled, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Danni thought about all of the years that she had spent on duty as a nurse when the stroke of midnight changed the date from one year to the next. The toasting with ginger ale that was done between staff members had always been her signal that another year had come and gone. The handshakes and pecks on the cheek were nice, but there had never been anything special about them at all. In fact from one year to the next, the nurse couldn’t even remember to whom it was that she first wished a Happy New Year. All of the faces and names of the people seemed to blur in her mind. There was never anything that stuck out as memorable. That was until this year, and she could just feel that things were going to be different.


Garrett logged off of the computer and opened the drawer where her valuables were stowed. Reaching in she gathered them all with a single hand: one wallet, a daily planner and her set of keys. She grabbed her leather jacket from the hook on the door and shoved the valuables into its pockets.


"Well, how about we stop in to see Dr. McMurray and then go home. Not much that we can do around here until later tonight." She looked to Danni all comfy in the chair. "Besides…we both should get some sleep before we actually are on-call for the next six months." She chuckled knowing that the few hours of sleep would never be enough to last that long.


Danni nodded in agreement. "Okay, let’s go see McMurray." She pulled herself into a standing position and took the leather jacket that Garrett was holding out to her. "I guess since I was in charge on this mission I’ll have to give the report." She wondered if any word had gotten out about the confrontation yesterday and decided not to say anything unless McMurray brought it up to her.


They left the small office of the Trauma Fellow and headed for the Chief of Trauma Services. The hallways showed little signs of life as the evening hours were approaching. The holiday atmosphere seemed subdued in the working staff tonight. The skeleton crew that staffed the holidays had more than enough work to keep their minds off the gaiety that would embark on the rest of the world at the stroke of midnight.


The echo of their footsteps down the corridor to the Ol’ Cutters office seemed out of place in the usually busy hallway. Upon reaching the office, they noticed that the secretary was getting ready to leave for the day, with her boss doing the same.


"Excuse me, but is Dr. McMurray able to see us?" Danni was polite and soft-spoken.


The older woman looked in through the open door. "Well, he hasn’t left yet. I think he might be able to for a few minutes." She reached over and pressed one of the buttons on the intercom. "Dr. McMurray, there is someone here to see you."


He stopped what he was doing and leaned across the desk to enable himself to reach the button on the intercom. "Who is it?"


"It’s Nurse Bossard and Dr. Trivoli."


"Bossard…Trivoli…send them in." He looked up and there they were, standing in his doorway. "Come on, you don’t have to stand out there." He motioned for them to come in. "How did the meet n’ greets go? Do they sound receptive?" McMurray looked directly at the surgeon. "Anything that you couldn’t handle?" His eyes searched into her crystal orbs for an answer. The slight shake of the surgeon’s head was all that he really needed to know. That had been the answer that he was hoping for. The rest, he didn’t really care about.


"They all seemed to welcome us, once they realized we weren’t there to steal patients from them. I think we made some fine contacts and hopefully they’ll think of us before they’re in over their heads." Danni was proud that her mission could be considered a success.


"Good! That sounds very good." He turned and walked over to the window. "Looks like a nice night for being out under the stars. I guess you two will have a front row seat on that one." The Ol’ Cutter turned back to them and smiled. "It’s times like these that make me wish that I was twenty years younger."


"I think we could squeeze you in for a fly-along tonight. That’s if you really want to go." Garrett offered her mentor.


Chuckling, he shook his head, "Don’t think that the wife would be too happy with me. She’d be entertaining a whole slew of people by herself. No, that’s not the way that I want to start off a New Year." He reached out his hand to touch the picture of her on his desk. "Maybe some other time. Tonight is just for you young people. Enjoy it."


"Thanks, sir," came in stereo from the two women, then Danni continued, "We will."


McMurray picked up his coat and walked toward the door. "Oh, and Dr. Trivoli, just remember that the next time you have a need to use your helmet for something other than what it’s intended for…"


Garrett gulped, "Yes, sir…" ‘Here it comes. I can feel it, reamed out because of that asshole McCormick.’


"Make sure that your mike is turned off. It does a number on the ear drums when it bounces across the furniture like that." He looked her in the eye. "Never thought that they picked up quite that well, ‘til yesterday. Seems that dispatcher was quite upset with you. He even wanted to file a report against your rough usage of their equipment." He raised his hand. "No! Not a single word." McMurray turned to each one, tipping his head as he spoke. "Happy New Year, Ladies." Then he winked at Garrett. "I’ll see you next year." With that, he went out of the door and down to the elevators without another word.


They stood looking at one another for a moment, then slowly turned and followed suit.



* * *

The few hours spent relaxing at home gave Danni the courage to do what she thought a good daughter should. She picked up the phone and made the required connection to speak to her parents. Hearing the ringing on the other end, she secretly hoped that no one would answer it. ‘Maybe I won’t have to speak with them this NewYear’s Eve.’ The rhythmic pattern of the ringing giving her a false sense of security. Abruptly it stopped and she heard the voice on the other end.


"Bossard residence, Mrs. Bossard speaking."


Danni sighed, ‘It’s her, why couldn’t it have been dad?’ "Hi, Mother."


"I thought that you would have been here by now, Danni. It is a holiday. You are aware of that, aren’t you?"


Danni nodded to herself, "Yes, Mother, that’s why I’m calling to wish you and Daddy a Happy New Year."