"Think that we’ll ever get used to this…I mean…not being the ones in there?"


"Hmm…I’m sure that we’ll have our moments, again."


"I hope so." Danni thought about what had almost transpired between the two of them when the call for assistance had come in. She had felt cheated at that instant, but not, after she watched the woman straining to bring a new life to the world.


Dr. Ian McCormick was the attending on duty this night and much to Garrett’s surprise he walked over to the pair with a huge smile on his face. She nudged her team member to get Danni’s attention. The surgeon kept her voice to a low whisper. "Wonder what words he’ll use to describe us now."


Danni smiled back at him. "Dr. McCormick, nice to see you again."


"Danni, Garrett, how’s my…" he caught himself before it could slip out. "How’s the team doing? Look’s like it got off with a quick start. What was that…two, three minutes into the New Year?"


Garrett smiled. She was glad that her threat was taken seriously. "Yes, that’s about what it was…two or three minutes."


"Good work you two. Now, go on home and get some rest. We’ll take it from here." He chuckled to himself. "You know, you’re both on call until the end of June." He turned and walked away, feeling as though he had won some kind of quest.


With a raised eyebrow, Garrett followed his form down the hall until he was no longer in view. "What was that all about?"


Danni shrugged her shoulders, "I’m not sure."


The surgeon smiled as she heard the sound of the baby’s cry. It was somewhat infectious as Danni also broke into a wide glowing smile as she looked up to her friend. Garrett Trivoli may not have been the Trauma Surgeon on duty, but she had met her goal of keeping another person from her own fate of being a lone survivor. For this they were both happy.


Chapter 6

The petite blonde stood silently off to the side of the room watching the interaction between the people that had attended the meeting of The Lone Survivors. They seemed to be from all walks of life, some well educated, some very much the blue collar workers of society and even a few that were trying to pull themselves up by their boot straps.


Gender didn’t seem to matter when it came to trauma. It chose at random from all age groups, well, that was after the age of twenty-five. Before, it was predominately males that were the victims. It was a fact of our society. The young males had a much greater chance to be cut down in the prime of their lives by some traumatic occurrence.


The first meeting of the lone survivors had been nothing more than a get-acquainted social with several of the Department Heads outlining the services that they would provide to the group. Now, as the second meeting was starting, they were about to get down to the business of the group: realization and recovery.


Danni looked over the gathering until she found the person that she was concerned most about, her friend Garrett. The nurse knew how much this endeavor meant to her. It had pained her greatly to learn that the strong surgeon was a lone surviving member of her family.


Aside from helping to write the proposal and organize the gatherings, Danni felt out of place knowing that her family was intact. She had offered to leave, once the meeting had begun, but the strong willed surgeon refused to allow it. The nurse had learned a lot from the woman in the almost seven months that she had come to know her. Danni respected her judgement and therefore agreed to stay. She had noticed by doing just that, Garrett had seemed more at ease than before.


Over the months, Danni had learned to pick up on small habits and speech patterns that denoted special moods about the raven-haired woman. She watched the tall surgeon standing off to the side as the meeting was being called to order. Her hands were hidden in her lab coat pockets, but Danni could tell what they were doing. The surgeon had this habit of fumbling with small items, such as change or paper clips, when she was nervous. Danni smiled as she took a seat at the rear of the room, watching the gentle motion that emulated from those pockets. The nurse knew that Garrett had a calming affect on her when they were airborne; perhaps it was her time to return the favor now.


The man at the podium was motioning for silence. Finally receiving it, he began. "Good evening, my name is Dr. Jaffers and I’ve been asked to moderate tonight’s meeting. I’m sure that you remember me from the last meeting." He looked around, watching for signs of familiarity. "For those of you who may not know, I’m a psychiatric counselor for the Trauma Services workers. Yes, even the rescuers need somebody to talk to sometimes."


Danni’s mind flashed back to several of the scene runs that she and Garrett had made in the hopes of saving someone, only to find an almost lifeless body that they could do nothing to help. It could be so depressing at times. ‘I’ll never understand why the rescuers do it day after day after day, especially the ones who volunteer.’ She was lost in her thoughts until she heard the name of her friend being announced. Focusing back on the here and now, she watched the tall woman walk slowly over to the microphone.


Garrett paused before stepping up to the podium. Once there, she let her eyes sweep the room until she found what she was looking for, blonde hair and pools of deep green. Locking gazes like this had always given her a sense of inner peace that she had never known before. Garrett was thankful that Danni had agreed to stay. The surgeon knew that what she was about to say would come out only once. If anyone was going to be witness to it, it was going to be her friend. The surgeon blinked and let her eyes look up to the heavens. ‘Okay, Luc, don’t let me fall on my face.’ She took in a breath and then began.


"My name is Garrett Trivoli, and before I became a surgeon I was just a normal everyday child growing up in a typical family. That is, until one day when my sense of belonging and my family were shattered. You see, I too, am a lone survivor just like you."


"Dr. Jaffers thought that it might be a good thing to have someone talk about his or her experience tonight and I thought that it would only be right for me to be the first. I’ve asked you to attend these meetings but I wasn’t about to ask one of you to share your experiences with the rest of the group just yet. I know that each one of us has to do that in his or her own time. Some will take longer and some will be willing to share their experiences sooner. I only ask that when you feel ready to do so, you let us know."


Garrett paused as she looked out over the group. Many were nodding in agreement while some others were showing no signs of any emotion at all. She remembered her days of that stoic mask and how she had hidden behind it. But now, she was finding it easier to let the mask only come out every so often, when the situation was just a little to close to home, instead of all the time. The last person the surgeon looked to was her team member and friend. She owed thanks to her for standing by her and now she just hoped that Danni would continue to do so after she heard her story, the full story.


"It was a normal Saturday evening for any seventeen year old. I was out with a group of friends at a movie while my parents and younger brother were together at one of his baseball games. I came home afterward to find the house dark and empty. I didn’t think anything unusual by it, except that I remember being envious that I was not sharing in the victory celebration that always occurred after one of his games. Win or lose, they would always stop for ice cream and discuss the game. On their way back home that night, the car they were in was broadsided and pushed into a telephone pole."


"When the phone rang, I answered it hoping it was my father asking me what flavor ice cream cone I wanted him to bring home for me. It wasn’t. Instead of that familiar voice, there was a monotone female informing me that I needed to come to the hospital. I remember hearing the word accident and the name of the hospital but nothing more than that. I don’t remember leaving the house or even hanging up the phone. The only thing that I remember was the look of terror on our next-door neighbor’s face right before he reached out to hold me in his arms. Within minutes, he and his wife had brought me to the hospital that had requested my presence. It was then that I was told my parents had been killed in the accident."


Danni could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she listened to Garrett talk. It hurt her to think of that young girl being thrust into an adult world with little sympathy by the medical community that she was now a part of. The nurse thought about how concerned her friend was over telling Diana Morgan about the outcome of her family’s accident. She could see now that the surgeon hadn’t wanted to make the same mistakes.


Garrett paused, biting at her lip. ‘Even after all these years, it still hurts.’ She cleared her throat then continued. "If that wasn’t enough, the doctor informed me that my brother was hurt beyond help. I was taken to his room and shown the array of machines and tubes that were connected to him. I was told that there was no way I would be able to care for him now or in the future. They then produced a paper and asked for my signature, explaining that it was a release for the funeral home to remove the bodies." There was a gasp that came from the audience as one woman brought out a tissue to dab at her eyes.