Danni grabbed the mail from the box and closed the door. Sorting through it she noticed that most of it was for Garrett. "Hmm…interesting." She put them on the desk and took her coat off.


"Okay young lady, I’m coming up to check on you." Danni announced as she started up the staircase. "You better be in bed and fast…" By this time Danni was standing at Garrett’s wide open door. The woman was stretched out across her bed still completely dressed, but deep in slumber. "Asleep," she whispered. Walking into the bedroom, Danni took the ends of the comforter and covered her tall friend. Bending over, she lightly kissed the tension-lined forehead and whispered, "Sleep well, Gar." ‘I love you.’


Danni walked back to the doorway and leaned up against its framework. ‘How could anyone think you to be a monster of any sort? Why, if he was here right now…’ The nurse thought about what she would do to the weasel of a man who thought himself to be some god-brandishing hypocrite. She’d seen his type before. They do anything to get their clients off, no matter whose reputation they destroyed.


She watched the gentle giant sleeping and her mind began to relive the courtroom all over.


"Doctor, before that unruly outburst, you stated that you don’t have a problem with men, is that correct?"


Garrett glared at the attorney for his jab at her friend’s behavior. "Yes." Her voice was strong and vibrant now. The glass of water that she had found during the chaos helped her immensely.


"Doctor, if you don’t have an issue with men, then are you currently in a relationship with a man?"


"Objection, Your Honor!" The District Attorney stated.


The Defense Attorney smiled at the Judge. "Your Honor, it is my intention to show a pattern that will indicate that the witness does have a problem with men."


"The objection is over-ruled." The Jurist turned a wary eye to the Defense Attorney. "But, Mr. Hanington, don’t stray too far."


"That won’t be an issue, Your Honor." The attorney replied smiling cockily at the jurors. Turning back to the witness, the well-manicured man asked. "Do you have somebody that you date occasionally, say a boyfriend, Dr. Trivoli?"


"I don’t really have much free time for relationships." Garrett glared at him wondering what right he had to pry into her life. She wasn’t the one on trial.


"NO?" He looked puzzled for a moment, and then a look of revelation came over his face. "Are you married?"


"I object, Your Honor, relevance?" The quick voice of the District Attorney could be heard.


"The objection is again over-ruled. We have to give the Defense the opportunity to prove the point he stated that was his purpose for questioning the witness."


The Defense Attorney was getting smug. "Doctor, please answer the question. Are you married?"


"No."


"Doctor, is there ANYONE in your life now? Are you perhaps living with someone?"


The look on Garrett’s face indicated that she was taken aback by the question. She eyed the blonde in the back row. "Yes, I currently share a house with a friend."


"Have you slept with your ‘FRIEND’?"


The surgeon paled at the question, it was as if she was struggling to answer the question. "Yes, we have shared a bed if that is what you mean."


"So, Doctor," he strolled over to the jury box, "is your FRIEND a man,"

he adjusted his tie, "or a woman?"


"A woman, but it’s not the way you are implying." Garrett gazed at Danni while she was answering the question.


The blonde woman thought about the look she’d seen on Garrett’s face when their eyes had met for that brief second or two, it was almost apologetic for some reason. ‘No use in speculating, Danni, it’s her past and you weren’t part of it.’ Her mind drifted back to the courtroom.


"Doctor, what is it exactly that you think I am implying?" He looked, at her wide-eyed and innocently.


"It appears, sir, that you are implying that we were intimate, which isn’t the case. We were stranded at a ski lodge due to the weather. There was only one room left, and it had only one bed."


"Thank you Doctor, but it appears that you are rather defensive on this issue. Have you ever been in intimate contact with one of your ‘FRIENDS’?"


"Only as far as giving one a massage after a particularly hard day at work."


"Let’s be honest here, shall we? Isn’t it true that the real reason you aren’t in a relationship with a man is because you don’t WANT to be with a man?"


"No!" Garrett let her eyes dart between the two attorneys. "As I stated before I don’t have time for ANY relationship right now with my career."


"Career, yes, your career…" he thought out loud as he planned his next attack. "Doctor, do you think that the so-called ‘Glass Ceiling’ actually exists?" He smiled coyly at the jury stand. "You do know what I’m talking about don’t you?"


"Yes, that women only rise to the point of the ‘Glass ceiling’ in the workplace while men continue to rise above it."


"Why is that?" The Defense Attorney slowed his step and looked directly at her.


"It seems that there continues to be the ‘Good Ol’ Boys Network’ in play for all areas of the workforce."


"Does that bother you, Dr. Trivoli?"


"Of course it bothers me."


"Isn’t it because you feel that men are held in higher esteem than women?"


"To a certain extent, yes."


"Isn’t that the reason you got the position of Flight Surgeon on your deployments to sea? They thought that by the sound of your name that you were a male."


"I didn’t make that decision."


"But you did make the decision to ask for the Rape Kit, because you felt that this was a way to get back at a man, for all the injustice that happens to women. Didn’t you?"

"No!" The surgeon was distraught, her hand playing nervously with the contents of her pocket.


"Your Honor, I object to this line of questioning. The Defense has yet to get to his point."


"The objection is sustained. You have had plenty of time to make your point, Mr. Hanington, that’s enough. Either move on or dismiss the witness."


"Your Honor, I will only be questioning this witness for a short time longer."


"Mr. Hanington, this is your final warning." The Judge settled back into his chair, his eyes stern and full of admonition.


"Yes, Your Honor." The Defense Attorney turned to the witness. "Isn’t the real reason you left the Navy because you couldn’t stand the fact that it was predominantly men?"


Garrett smiled slowly. "I never left the service, sir. I’m still an active member of the U.S. Navy for the next two years." The twinkle in her eyes danced in delight as she leaned her elbows on the railing of the witness stand and rested her chin in her hand waiting for his reaction.


The Defense Attorney looked like a deer in front of headlights. He was in shock. Defeated by his own line of questioning, he swallowed hard. "No more questions for this witness."


The Judge smiled at the witness. "You are excused."


Sighing, Danni shook her head. "If looks could have killed, I think both of us would be up for murder right now, Gar." She thought aloud in a hushed tone, not wanting to disturb the sleeping woman. ‘How does he know what you are like. I do. I’d trust my life in those hands of yours a million times over.’


Lost in her dream of Garrett’s hands, Danni jumped when she heard the sound of the ringer on the phone. Racing down the stairs, she grabbed it on the end of the second ring, not wanting the sleeping woman to be disturbed.


"Hello," she hoarsely whispered.


"Danni, are you feeling alright? Are you sick?"


"Brie! No, I’m fine…well, actually I’m a little sick to my stomach right now but I’m getting used to that. Why do you ask?"


"Your voice, why is it so hoarse?"


"I was…a little vocal at the court case today. I must have…"


"Court case? What court case?"


"Brie, nothing for you to get worried about. It was a case that Garrett got summoned to. It was a rape trial."


"Rape trial? Was it someone you know?"


"No, a patient that we worked on together. They really grilled Garrett though. You would have thought Gar was the one charged with rape the way the questioning was directed from the defense attorney."


"Danni, it was good that you were there for support. That sounds like it was some kind of hell."


"Yeah, well, it still plagues us now. We were up all night with a disaster and Gar was in surgery until the early hours of the morning. It didn’t leave much time for us to sleep." Danni let her voice trail off. "Sis, was there any reason why you called?"


"Oh, I was…was going to be in town tonight and I thought that maybe I could meet that surgeon of yours."


"Gee, Brie, I don’t know. Gar is sacked out across the bed too tired to even get in it. Another time might be better." Danni sighed. "This court thing really got us both pretty beat."


"Danni, you are taking care of yourself, aren’t you. I mean, you don’t want to be losing any weight right now."