Garrett picked up the orange and began peeling it, the sweetness of its fragrance filling her nose. She broke off a piece and divided it into the smaller segments that it grew in. With each division of one segment from the other her mind drifted to how much like oranges that she and Danni were. Each one a part of the whole while being an individual, yet coming together and fitting each other as though they were meant to be that way for life. After a minute or two, the surgeon just shook her head wondering what she was thinking. ‘Danni is in love with David. She’s your friend, be happy for her, she’s found that someone to love for the rest of her life. Why else would she be headed down to meet him?’ Her mind kept telling her, but deep in her heart she was still bothered by it. Sighing, the surgeon opened the magazine on her lap and started to read, hoping that her mind would let her.



* * *

The casually dressed blonde woman in jeans and blazer stood before the information desk in the lobby of the hospital. She knew the ins and outs of finding a medical professional when she needed one in particular and even though this hospital was in a different state, they all worked pretty much the same. Danni waited for the older woman to finish her phone call and turn in her direction. Smiling politely, Danni looked at her. "I’m a friend of Dr. David Beckman, I was wondering if you could page him to let him know that Danni Bossard is here?"


"Dr. David Beckman," the older woman nodded and returned her smile. "If you’d like to have a seat over there, I’ll let you know when he returns the page." She motioned to several chairs in the lobby.


"Thank you." Danni smiled once again and took a seat from which she could see the information desk.


Within minutes the woman had motioned for Danni back to the desk where she was told of David’s involvement in a surgical procedure. "He asked me to direct you to his office for you to wait there for him." The older woman attempted to repeat his message word for word.


Danni agreed and was given directions to his fourth floor office.


Following the directions, she soon came upon a large wooden door with a shinny new placard on it reading, ‘Dr. David Beckman, General Surgery.’ Danni smiled realizing that the young medical student that she had first met was now known as a surgeon. It was all those years of growing in knowledge and skill that had brought on the friendship that they shared. The blonde woman closed her eyes wishing that she would still have his friendship when she came back out of the office after they had talked.


The nurse knocked gently then opened the door to the empty office. She looked around and could sense the man that used it. His love of cars was evident by the models that decorated his shelves and the calendar emblazoned with the Porsche emblem on the wall. "He may be practicing in West Virginia but he’s got a New York state of mind." Danni shook her head as she sat down to wait for him. The seat was comfortable and it soon conformed to her body as the minutes turned to hours waiting for his appearance. Waiting for David’s appearance reminded her of the many times that she sat waiting for her own surgeon, Garrett Trivoli to meet her for the ride home.



* * *

The surgeon was restless. She’d sat in one position longer than she ever cared to and now it was time to get up and move about. Garrett gingerly lowered her leg, letting it hover just off the floor as she positioned the crutches under her arms for support. ‘How long did I sit like that?’ She looked at the clock on the hall stand. "It’s 1700 already?" Garrett couldn’t believe that she was missing the constant chatter and helpful interruptions of her roommate already.


The tall woman worked her shoulders before she started on her way roaming aimlessly around the first floor of the house. Each room reminded her of some moment in time that she had shared with Danni as they all came rushing back into her mind. The laughter, the joking, the stark reality of their profession when one of their patients didn’t make it, in fact, all the words, the thoughts, but most of all, the face of the blonde was what haunted her soul.


Garrett sighed considering what to do next to keep her busy. Then it came to her, ‘The Journal…Danni asked me to read it.’ She looked around the living room for it, then the hall stand. It was nowhere in sight. "Hmmm…I bet she forgot to bring it down." The woman smirked and shook her head. "Well, I guess it’s time for a bathroom break any way." She slowly turned around and headed for the stairs.


The slow and tedious ascent to the second floor was met with feelings of relief as she emerged from the bathroom, ready to sit down once again and begin to read Danni’s journal. She had faith that she’d be able to solve the puzzle of the young woman’s dreams if given enough time. She made her way to the nurse’s room and stopped before the door, hesitant at first to enter. "This is crazy! She said that I could read it. So what if I have to go into her room to get it?"


Garrett pushed open the door and was immediately hit by the fragrance that was Danni. She closed her eyes and savored it, letting it settle in her mind and soon she swore she felt her presence in the room with her. It was subtle but there, like the petite woman herself. As the surgeon entered the room, she eyed the journal on the nightstand and a wonderful thought came to her head. ‘Why not, perhaps it will help with the puzzle?’ The corners of her mouth gently turned upward until the open smile could not be controlled.


She made her way to the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. After getting herself comfortable, she reached for the book and turned on the small reading light. Settling into the pillows, Garrett reclined on the bed and began reading the small handwritten book filled with the bits and pieces of Danni’s dreams.



* * *

Between the lack of sleep the night before and the long drive to come to see David at his place of work, Danni had nodded off waiting for her friend to finish his surgery. It was one of the rare occasions where exhaustion overwrote her need for a blanket and pillow. Her petite body relaxed in the chair like it had been designed specifically for her comfort while wisp-like dreams of dark hair and the hint of leather came dancing across her mind. So engulfed in them was she, that the nurse didn’t even hear the door as it opened.


David stood looking at the blonde woman whose face was graced with love. There, in his very office, was the woman on whom he had carried a crush for his entire medical career. How peaceful she looked. He hoped that it was himself that she was dreaming of.


Without a noise or word, he moved to her side and gently placed a soft kiss upon her head, then leaned back waiting for her to wake up with his image in her eyes.


The quiet stirrings of eyelashes heralded the moment as the loving expression remained on her face. The softness of her voice immeasurable of the love that it carried with the single syllable that it uttered. "Gar?" Then slowly her eyes opened, revealing not the woman of her dreams but the man whose friendship she had shared for many years. It took her a minute before she realized where she was.


His brown eyes were transfixed to her form. He stood there wondering what she was thinking. Then slowly he realized that his likeness was not the one in her dream as the more she awoke her expression of love changed to one of mild embarrassment. He swallowed hard to choke back the emotion, then began to speak as if he had not seen the look on her face. "Danni, I’m sorry it took me so long in surgery. I…I lost track of time there for a while."


She pushed herself up into a more alert position letting the fog clear from her head. "That’s okay, I’m used to it. I know that nothing is ever predictable once you start a surgery."


David smiled at her, his eyes beaming with love. "Always the understanding one, aren’t you Danni?"


She blushed with embarrassment, the red color rising from her neck and up over her cheeks. "I try David. That’s all we can hope to do, is try to be understanding of one another."


"Say, why don’t I make up for it over dinner tonight? Let me take you out to the best restaurant in town here. We could do a little dancing to start off the night. What do you say? You don’t have to be anywhere, do you?" His eyes looked deeply into hers, pleading to be given the chance to make it up to her.


"David, I…"


"Come on, Danni. Hey, maybe we could take in a show if you don’t want do go dancing. Or maybe you just want to have a long, leisurely dinner filled with candlelight and conversation. Anything you want, just name it."


Danni smiled at his boyish charm then she bit back on her lip as she readied herself to speak. "David, I really just came to see you and talk. I don’t really think that dinner would be such a good idea. At least not right now." Her eyes searched his for understanding, then she ventured forward toward her goal.


"I was hoping that you might be…"


"Hiring?" His eyes lit up. "Are you thinking about coming here to work? I could talk to the Director of Nursing for you." He was delighted at the thought. "Have you seen our E.R.? I could show it to you right now."


"David I’m not interested in leaving Pittsburgh, at least not right now. I’ve made a commitment to the Flight Surgeon’s Team until the end of the staff year."