Without a word, Danni’s eyes met hers. The steely blue ones reached out at first then the growing storm raged fiercely as they moved from Danni to David. It was at that instant that the petite woman knew that some deep hidden emotion had been brought to life in Garrett. The nurse’s heart fluttered as she pushed David away from her.


There had been no exchange of words, but Danni knew what had been placed in her own heart by the communication of Garrett’s eyes. If that look meant what she thought it did…there was a glimmer of hope for them yet. With renewed faith that love would conquer all, even the heart of a stoic surgeon, Danni had worked to hasten David’s farewell.


There wasn’t a word from Garrett. The tall woman crossed to the stairs and went to her room. Danni remembered the sound of the door as it came to rest in its frame. The echo of it could still be heard in her head, even now.


Perhaps it was the upcoming court appearance playing on the surgeon’s mind that kept her in a thoughtful, moody grip for the remainder of the weekend. However, Danni wondered if something else was not on Garrett’s mind. Something that could possibly be related to the incident on Saturday evening that was being mulled over, like the pieces of a puzzle.


Looking back up to the clear blue sky above her, Danni sighed, then continued on her walk into the main doors of the hospital. It had been a while since she had driven to work without the company of the surgeon. She felt a little uneasy by it and thought of what it would be like without Garrett in her life. It was a possibility that she would have to consider now that it was March and there were less then four months to go in the Fellowship year. There was one thought that kept running through her mind: A lot can happen in four months.



* * *

Garrett had left the house early today. Not that anything special was happening or that she needed to be at the hospital by a certain time, the surgeon just couldn’t stay in the house any longer. She needed to be out in the open or somewhere that her mind could think clearer than it had been for the last day or so. In fact, setting there at her desk, she didn’t even know what it was that she wanted to be thinking about.


She had always known her mind. Why was she having a problem now? Better yet, what was the problem, anyway? She liked the blonde nurse and if anyone were able to draw the stoic woman out of her shell Garrett was glad that it had been her. The surgeon didn’t even mind the gentle ribbing that Danni occasionally was able to do to bring her playful side out into the open.


Garrett’s mind drifted back to Saturday evening. The earlier part of the day had gone quite well, especially after the roller coaster ride of emotions that they had been met with on Friday night. First the whole dinner thing with Ian and David, then the near mishap at the Railroad yards that had sent them both crashing to the ground. The surgeon shook her head in amazement that neither one of them were hurt in any way.


Her mind replayed the scene as it unfolded before her, the noise, and the nudge then the outright shove. ‘If you hadn’t thought fast, Gar…’ She shuddered to think of the metal coupling that would have obliterated Danni’s face and head had she not been guided out of the way. What would she have done then, seeing the decapitated lifeless form dangling from the vice-like grip of the device?


The veteran Navy Flight Surgeon grew pale at the thought of losing the other half of her team. She had grown to rely on the nurse over the last several months of working hand in hand with her. Garrett laughed. ‘How can you not bond with that woman?’ And it was true. Danni was like a breath of fresh air let into the surgeon’s tightly run and well-organized life.


Garrett wondered why she could not stand to see the petite woman with David anywhere near her. David had done nothing to the surgeon but hand off his beeper to her on that first day of her Fellowship. He seemed like a nice person. Garrett smiled as she thought about that for a second. ‘Just not the right person for Danni.’ It was funny, but that was the exact thought she had had when she walked into the house Saturday night and saw the two of them together with the dimmed lighting and the soft background music.


Garrett thought of the slightly pudgy, dusky, brown-haired man whose medium height was just barely a few inches taller than her friend. ‘How could he watch out over her? Danger follows her like a magnet.’ Sure he was quiet compared to her vivacious character, but that was due to shyness and nothing more. There was no quiet inner strength that oozed from him. Quite frankly, there was nothing about him that screamed love but the goo-goo eyes that he wore as he followed Danni’s every motion. Garrett was sure of it now. David was all wrong for the nurse, not at all what she had pictured as Danni’s perfect partner for life.


Closing her eyes, the surgeon leaned back in the chair and tried to picture the image of the other half of Danni’s soul. She could see a tall statuesque form whose coloring was the opposite of the fair skin and hair of the nurse. The gentle mannerisms of Danni would be complimented by the power that exuded from her soulmate. A power that would be used for good and righteousness while tempered with compassion. Garrett saw Danni as a force of life, the up-lifter of souls, knowing that anyone who would be so closely connected with her would be a leader in their own right.


The surgeon was pondering the thought, her expression one of sereneness and peace. Happy in the fact that she knew what the woman needed.


Rene Chabot stood in the doorway, admiring the peaceful face of his often-troubled friend. It was rare to see her so caught up in her dreams, especially ones that brought such an enjoyable smile to her face. He dared not move for fear of breaking the spell that someone had cast upon her. Finally he could see the fluttering of her eyelashes as she began to come back to the present.


The French-Canadian took a step backwards, bringing the door with him, feigning a first step into the occupied room. His startled face at her presence aided in the deception. "Garrett, my friend, what brings you in so early?"


The raven-haired woman smirked then answered. "I wish I knew myself, Rene."


"I don’t understand. You looked so peaceful and happy when I first saw you." The tall, thin man sat on the corner of the desk. "I thought, perhaps, you finally found someone to make your dreams with. No one looks like you just did without thinking of a loved one. Eh?"


"I don’t know Rene, it’s not all that easy." Garrett shifted in her chair, the sign of a nervous mind. "I…ah…I’m finding my patience really being tried by someone. I just can’t seem to not get upset when they come around or even the sound of the name gets me going."


"Surely that person was not the one that your were thinking of when I walked in. The look on your face wasn’t one of annoyance at all."


Her eyebrow inched its way higher on her forehead. "Meaning?"


Dr. Chabot slid his body to the far corner of the desk. "That maybe your feeling of annoyance is out of love for some other person." He watched the expression on her face turn from menacing to thoughtful. "Maybe it is the possibility of love that you are annoyed at."


"Love! Chabot you think that the world is filled with nothing but love. That’s all you married people see is love." She pushed her chair back and got up to leave.


Rene reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, stopping her as she passed by. "Love doesn’t make you weak, Garrett. Love can be a very powerful thing when the right two people are drawn together. It is something that can move mountains and bring calm to a troubled soul."


Crystal blue eyes stared into his. "I’m sure that it is, Rene. But I wouldn’t know what love was if it was standing beside me."


The thin Fellow withdrew his hand. "And that is because you are thinking with your head and not your heart." He motioned to his body parts in mention. "Remember Garrett, open your heart and love will come to you."


"Rene…"


"Think about it. That’s all I ask." He looked at his colleague with hope in his eyes.


Her eyes pleaded with his but it was a fight that she knew she could not win. Finally she nodded. "Okay, I’ll think about it. I’m thinking about everything else, why not love, too?" She watched the corners of his mouth raise up and a broad smile stretch across his face.



* * *

The warming trend in early March was a sure sign of things to come. The old saying is that the warmer it gets, the more traumas there are. Now, after several months of below freezing weather, having the temperature reach up into the fifty degrees Fahrenheit range would only bring out all of the people crazed with cabin fever. The E.R. was gearing up for an unusually busy day.


Not having anything special to work on, Danni volunteered to help out. If a call for the Flight Team came in, she would meet up with Garrett at the helipad. The young nurse found it different to be working with the daylight staff. Not that she didn’t have any friends among them but just that Mom and Rosie were missing from the group. Her day progressed quickly as she rolled up the sleeves of her Flight Suit and got back into the swing of E.R. nursing.


Before Danni realized it, the shift was over and she was headed for the locker room to collect her things to leave. As she pushed open the door, the nurse was meet by a rather startled Charge nurse on the other side. "Sorry, Mom!"