The surgeon didn’t need to think about this answer at all. It was her life and rolled off her tongue as though she penned its definition. "Trauma is any body wound or shock produced by physical injury, as from violence or an accident."


"Now, are you stating for the court that you have experience in handling traumas, such that are indicated in this case?" He watched her as though he was waiting for a child to answer.


"Yes," Garrett nodded slowly, "It is my testimony that I have experience in handling traumas."


"Where did you acquire your trauma experience?"


"In the United States Navy, as a Lieutenant."


The Defense Attorney strutted up to the front of the courtroom. "Dr. Trivoli, you tell us that you were a Lieutenant in the Navy. Where exactly were you stationed during your time with the Navy?"


"I was stationed onboard two or three aircraft carriers as a Flight Surgeon after my basic training."


"Can you tell me how the women onboard those vessels were treated?" He tilted his head as if really interested in her reply.


"They were treated like sailors, sir. We were all there to do our assigned jobs."


He stood before the jury, letting his right hand slowly play along the railing in a thoughtful pattern. "Were there any…oh, let’s say, fighter pilots that were female under your care?"


"No, not on my deployments to sea. Some were cooks, computer specialists, communication specialists, nurses."


"And, of course, you, the only surgeon onboard." He looked directly into her eyes and smiled. "It was your responsibility to treat the entire crew for any health concerns or accidental injures, is that correct?"


"Yes, I was the only surgeon paired with a general practice physician."


"Then tell me, Doctor, during those years in the Navy, how many rape victims did you treat?"


"None."


"How many did you see someone else treating during that time?"


"None."


The Defense Attorney turned to the jury and smiled charmingly at them one by one. "Dr. Trivoli, have you ever been raped?"


"No!"


"Have you ever witnessed a rape?"


"No!"


"Have you ever raped someone?"


The answer was prompt. "NO!"


The District Attorney stood, "I object, Your Honor."


The Council for the Defense was quick to begin a reply to the Judge, "Your Honor…"


The Judge tapped his fingers on the handle of his gavel. "The court will take a ten minute recess." Then looking from one attorney to the other, "I’ll see you both in my chambers, now!" He then got up and left the bench, retreating into his chambers with the two opposing lawyers not far behind.


Exactly ten minutes went by before the three men returned to the courtroom. The disgruntled look on the face of the Prosecutor was all anyone needed to see that, at least for the time being, this line of questioning would continue.


"Doctor, if you have never been raped, witnessed a rape or have raped another person, how would you know to identify a rape trauma, from any other trauma?"


"The introduction of bruising around the vaginal area, the teeth marks on the breasts, and the multiple contusions on the victim that would align with the placement of hands."


The Defense Attorney appeared to become very confident, his posture straightened as if he grew another six inches. He stood over Garrett in the witness stand asking, "Dr. Trivoli, have you never heard of sex partners that enjoy a variety of methods to become fulfilled? Such as sadomasochists?"


Garrett’s eyebrow quirked when the question was asked, yet she responded quickly. "Yes, I have heard of such practices, but that wasn’t the case here."


"Doctor, how can you be sure that wasn’t the case? Aren’t you the first one to mention the need of a ‘Rape Kit’?"


"Yes, I was in charge of the Trauma Room. I called for the Rape Kit."


"Did you ask all the males to leave the room?"


"Yes."


"Why was that?"


"To give the victim the privacy she deserved. She had been violated once. Having men in the room during the processing of the Rape Kit would be like having it telecast on TV, thus violating her again. I did not feel that the men needed to be in the room. She had been violated enough."


"Your Honor, would you please direct the witness to just answer the question and NOT add her own commentary."


The Judge smirked. He didn’t like the way the Defense Attorney was handling such an esteemed doctor. "Mr. Hanington, you asked a vague question, she seemed to answer it appropriately."


The Lawyer for the Defense felt that he was losing ground and attempted to discredit her answer. "Isn’t it true that you told one of the men who was in the room that you never wanted to see him step foot in your Trauma Room again?"


"Yes."


The slick attorney smiled to the jurors and asked a series of rapid-fire questions. "Isn’t it true that the real reason you asked those men to leave was because you don’t like MEN?"


"No!"


"And you feel you are superior to them in EVERY way?" Both his eyes and tone emphasizing the word.


"Why that’s absurd!"


"Doctor, that doesn’t answer the question. Don’t you really think that men are the weaker sex?"


The District Attorney stood up to object just as the final question was being asked. "Wouldn’t you just prefer to not have men around at all?"


Garrett’s response was quiet, her throat parched from all of the answers she had given. "No."


Just as the District Attorney got the words, "I object" out of his mouth, the petite blonde woman in the back of the gallery was standing up yelling. "Stop! Just stop it!"


The surgeon’s eyes adjusted to the figure in the distance off to the right of the Defense Attorney. There stood Danni, protesting the injustice that was befalling one of her menagerie, the most cherished one of all.


The Judge slammed his gavel down on the bench looking for compliance in his domain. "Order! Order in this courtroom."


"But Judge, they are lies, they are all lies." The petite nurse leaned over the chair in front of her, her arms now supporting her weight. "He doesn’t know her like I…"


"Young lady, if you don’t sit down and be quiet, I’ll throw you right out of this courtroom." The Judge banged the gavel once more for emphasis to his statement. "Not one more word, Miss." He cautioned her.


Karen and Rosie both reached up, grabbing onto Danni’s tensed arms and pulled her down into her seat. The small body plopped into the hard wooden chair in disgust.


"Hey, what are you trying to do, get us thrown out of here?" Rosie’s eyebrows were furrowed deep with concern for her friends. "She needs all of our support in here, where she can see us, not standing out in the hall behind closed doors." The blonde sighed and crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive positioning.


Mom leaned into Danni’s ear and whispered softly to her. "Do you want to give them more ammunition to use to discredit her?"


The young woman froze in the realization. Her green eyes grew wider and she found herself locking gazes with the raven-haired woman on the stand. Trying to draw no more attention to her, or Garrett for that matter, Danni closed her eyes and shook her head. "No," she whispered and then closed her eyes to the pain that was gathering in her being.


Danni’s face registered disbelief that anything Garrett said could or would be taken out of context. But the lawyer was doing a fine job of twisting everything that Garrett would answer to use in his favor. Danni sat riveted to her seat watching it all unfold.


Garrett let her eyes stray from the sparse country landscape outside of the car and turned her head only enough to bring Danni into view out of the corner of her eye. The blonde woman had been sitting quietly in the rear seat with the surgeon. ‘I guess she has a lot to think about, too!’ It wasn’t like Danni to travel this long and not try to get a conversation going, especially with the likes of Rosie and Mom in the front seat. The surgeon wondered if the four of them would ever be that friendly again after what had transpired in the courtroom today. She’d surely understand why if they chose not to be with her again.


The surgeon let her head drop and rested it in her hand, wiping her forehead as she tried to ward off the ensuing headache. When did everything start to go wrong? She loved her work, she was feeling comfortable in the hospital, and she was finally making friends, even letting one small blonde nurse begin to touch her heart. She’d never felt that comfortable before, no matter whom she was with. Now, in the matter of several minutes of courtroom interrogation, she felt like she was losing it all. She closed her eyes and let her left hand slide off her lap, coming to rest on the seat. She was just so tired from the night of surgery that the tension from the courtroom only made it worse. She felt as if all of the life had drained out of her being, leaving nothing but an empty shell.


Danni hurt for her friend. She could see the torment written in the tense muscles of Garrett’s face. She wanted to do nothing more than reach over and hug the woman, soothing her pain. The nurse wondered at this point how wise that might be. She had to do something to show the surgeon that she was not alone. That’s when she saw Garrett’s hand slip onto the seat. Reaching with her right hand, she let it worm right under the large palm and slide smoothly into place, locking their fingers together. Danni held her breath waiting for Garrett to notice her touch.