"Boson’s Chair?" The blonde was at a lose for an explanation. "I don’t understand. What’s so bad about a chair?"

Garrett thought for a moment trying to find something that the nurse would understand to compare it to. "It would be like sitting on a chair dangling by a cable stretched between two race cars. One wrong move and…"

"Oh, my!" Danni drew her hand up to her mouth as she tried to catch her breath. For the first time, the young woman was realizing just how sheltered her life had been. She could just see her mother’s reaction if that had been her. ‘Those times at the cabin were nothing compared to that.’ She remembered her fondness for climbing out on the limb of that old Maple tree as it overhung the lake and diving off it into the water below. ‘But at least the tree was planted firmly on the ground and when I dove in, the water cushioned my fall.’ She felt a shiver run up her spine at the idea of falling from the sky, untethered to the ground below and nothing to cushion the impact.

The nurse studied her tall friend who was now pacing the room. She could see the maturity that life and its experiences had brought to the surgeon and wondered why she was being exposed to all of this now. Danni looked up at the man who was eyeing her.

"You’re kidding, right?" She waited for an answer. McMurray only shook his head and smiled warily. Her shoulders slumped and she voiced a breathy but disappointed, "You’re not. The Board wants Garrett to fly into surgeries, literally."

"And you, too, Nurse Bossard."

"The Board feels that your presence in the air will be a highly visible marketing tool to the smaller hospitals in the area, a Trauma Surgical Team flying in to their world. They want your faces to be more recognizable than the presidential candidates." He further elaborated.

Danni chuckled at that thought. "Well, that won’t be hard." It was the nurse’s attempt at weak humor, her usual front line defense when she felt ill at ease in a situation. "But what am I suppose to do? I’ve never been in a helicopter. In fact, the last time that I was even on an airplane was…." The petite nurse gulped hard trying to settle her stomach at the thought, but the telltale pallor was stretching across her features.

Danni’s mind rehashed her only plane ride. It wasn’t hard to remember. There is only so much that one can commit to memory spending almost the entire flight in a catatonic state. Her fear of flying was not easily overcome. Rosie had tried numerous times to get her to come out of her self imprisoned denial of the flight, but Danni just couldn’t do it, or at least her mind wouldn’t let her. It had been the worst vacation that Rosie had ever had, not to mention the blonde nurse. Even after they had landed and she was back on firm ground, it didn’t ease up. The only thing that her mind kept focusing on was the return flight home. It not only effected her waking mind but also her sleep. Rosie finally conceded and cashed in their plane tickets for the return flight home after a second sleepless night. Danni thought about the little trip into her not so pleasant past. ‘I wonder if she will be able to understand?’

The eyes of the surgeon noted the change in her friend’s coloring and the uneasy look on her face. Garrett stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face her mentor. Her eyes narrowed and she raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You…You want us to fly in and save the day at these little ass Podunk’s of a hospital and make the Board look like it’s reaching out with services to every little nook and cranny of the area." The surgeon’s eyes flashed with anger. "Whose idea was that, the accountant?"

"What’s the matter, Doctor, you afraid that you might have to interact with more people who don’t know your likes and dislikes?" McMurray looked directly at the tall woman. ‘Okay, call me a liar, but I know that’s part of the reason.’ "Maybe if you would put the patient first and not your damn need for perfection, then…" McMurray stopped and just stared at her. ‘Jeez, I just pushed that too far. She’ll bolt and run for sure now.’

Both women were studying his face now, trying to see where he stood. Could he seriously be considering this? The office was silent as all three stared at one another, then finally the silence was broken.

"Come on, Danni. We don’t have to listen to this nonsense." She turned and started to walk toward the door of the office as the nurse slowly rose to join her.

"You do if you want that proposal to become a reality." McMurray called out to her. Garrett’s outstretched hand hesitated on the doorknob as Danni froze in mid step and turned to look back at the man. "You do this for the Board and you have carte blanche with your project. It’s as simple as that." The Ol’Cutter got up and circled the high backed chair. "I know that this project means something to you both. Damn it! It’s that or nothing as far as the Board’s concerned."

"I’m not going to have our faces put all over the place. I’m not some publicity seeking egomaniac and neither is she." The dark-haired woman pointed to her friend and then just shook her head in dismay. "We don’t need to be high profile in our jobs. Flying in a helicopter is dangerous enough with the blades looming overhead and the jet fuel onboard. We don’t need to be on the lookout for crazed fans, too."

"Is that your concern, fans? I’ll tell them that the PR is for the hospitals only and not to go to the general public. Will that help?" McMurray sat down and waited for an answer.

"Gar…er…Dr. Trivoli, maybe we should think about this." Danni looked pleadingly to the tall surgeon. ‘How bad could it be…I mean she only has six months left to the Fellowship. I just know that the project would help her, too.’ There she was, putting her friends and others before herself, once again. ‘Now, really, how many flights could they need a surgeon on? Maybe I’ll feel better in a helicopter…Yeah, right!’ She rolled her eyes knowing that it wouldn’t make a difference.

Garrett thought about all the lonely people that the project could bring out of their depression and agony of being the one left living after a family tragedy. ‘If I can’t do it here, I’ll just wait and do it somewhere else after this year is up.’ She looked over at Danni. Those green eyes were speaking in volumes that were screaming into the surgeon’s head. ‘By the gods, how can she be so giving? I bet she doesn’t even understand all of the hazards that she’s asking me to let her be a part of. Why, if anything were to happen to her….’ The tall woman pursed her lips and licked her teeth as she thought about the situation. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind as she occasionally stole glances at the blonde woman in front of her. She was probably going to regret this one day, but she didn’t have the heart to say no while she was looking at those hopeful eyes. ‘I’ll just have to make sure that she’s well prepared for this endeavor. By the gods, I don’t want anything to ever happen to her.’

"Oh, all right!" She muttered and walked back over to the chair then sat down. "But there’ll be some things ironed out here and now, first." She’d go through with it but only on mutually agreed upon terms.

The nurse’s happiness was piqued at the idea of her friend getting the help and support that she’d need to deal with her past experiences. Danni smiled, allowing her nose to wrinkle up in delight. She patted her friend’s arm and quickly assumed the role of mediator in the ensuing peace talks.



* * *

It was nearly lunchtime when the petite nurse and her tall companion emerged from the office of Dr. McMurray. Neither one looked truly happy, but they were rather satisfied that an agreement had been worked out. Danni had done her best to keep the tempers and the egos from gaining any footholds in the negotiations. Garrett’s main concern was for both her and her partner to be properly trained and readied to assume the roles of a flight crew. The surgeon was not one for improvisation when the lives of her crew or their patient were at stake. The nurse had also pointed out that the time spent indoctrinating them into the routine and workings of the helicopter crews would only add to their PR potential. One mistake in the public eye would not only discredit them but the hospital as well.

Danni was glad that the compromises were ones that everyone would be able to live with. ‘Well,’ she thought, ‘almost everyone.’ She still wasn’t sure that she would be able to do it, but she was willing to walk through hell if she had to for the support group to become a reality. ‘I’m not about to be the cause of this not happening.’ She thought about her nice and easy world as she was used to it. It was never going to be the same. At least not for the rest of the time that Garrett Trivoli was here in Pittsburgh. She sighed at that thought and felt the butterflies once again coming to life in her stomach.

Garrett’s mood was somber and thoughtful as she matched strides with her friend while they walked away from the office. She was pleased that she had stood her ground enough to get them the training that they would need to be a cohesive team. She realized that it would be taking away from her time in the O.R. but didn’t want to chance any unforeseen problems with her new friend. The surgeon cast a wayward glance in the nurse’s direction. ‘I bet she’s scared to hell and back.’ She was amazed at how much she was finding out about this woman. More than she had known about anybody in her lifetime. ‘Lucas, you’d be proud of her. She’s just like you, following me wherever my path leads.’


Chapter 2

The days seemed to fly by with little or no effort on the part of Danni. Her mind was being kept occupied with thoughts of everything but her normal nursing duties. First it was the rigorous physical conditioning that started off each and every morning for both her and the surgeon. It was to give them better strength and endurance for the days ahead. At times, she wondered if they were ever going to see a patient again. Thanks to the Cardiac Rehab Unit, they were able to use the indoor walking track each morning before the daily patrons made their way to it. With the weather turning more and more towards winter, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. She just couldn’t imagine herself being pried out of her nice warm bed to run out of doors. At least this way she was able to wake up a little first without the help of the elements.