Her body’s alarms seemed to be going off consistently with a pattern of their own, not keeping beat with the passion that the two were moving with. Deep within the realm of her subconscious mind, Danni recognized the noise and found her right hand leaving the warm, sweaty body of her lover to reach for the phone on the nightstand. Tempered with the reality of their almost continuous state of being on-call for emergencies, Danni brought the phone to her ear.


The dead silence on the other end threw her until she heard the start of slow rhythmic breathing that became heavy at times and startled her. Opening her eyes, she stared out into the blackness of the room and realized that she was alone with the covers wrapped tightly around her. She could feel her body still pulsating from the touch of her invisible lover and felt cheated by the sound of the raspy breathing on the other end. Staring into the phone she found herself angered and on the verge of tears. "Like I really needed this phone call right now. Let me tell you, buddy, you’re way too late." Her words were sharp and she could feel the tears streaming down her face as she slammed the receiver onto the cradle of the phone.


"Damn it anyway. Garrett, where are you?" The young woman’s voice sounded out into the night with anguish. "I need you."


Rolling over Danni hugged at her pillow and cried herself to sleep.



* * *

Garrett rolled back into her parking space just a little before her time to come on shift. She’d spent the night driving and thinking about what David had said to her the evening before. Her only stop during the last nine hours had been at an all night coffee shop on the highway where she sat and drank down several cups of the warming liquid.


If David was right, and Garrett’s own emerging feelings were true, the surgeon felt like she had wasted a year of time by not allowing Danni to get closer than she had. How could she approach her now with only a few short weeks left and offer her love? She couldn’t, it wouldn’t be fair to either one of them.


The surgeon had already made a commitment over the phone with a hospital that was across the country in Arizona. She’d followed her plan and finagled her best offer into one of truly stellar proportions. It would be impossible to carry on a relationship of any kind that far away from one another. Besides, all of Danni’s family and friends were here in the ‘Burgh. How could she ask her to give them all up just to be with her?


It seemed like the fates had already decided what would happen and there was nothing that she could do about it. ‘Well, at least it’s not like we’re lovers or such.’ "She’ll forget me after I’m gone." Garrett thought about the friendly, outgoing nurse. ‘The question is, will I ever forget her?’ And deep in her heart, the surgeon knew the answer, never. Not for as long as she breathed would she forget the kindness of the young woman’s soul to have shown her the warmness of friendship and the comfort of love.


With a new mindset, Garrett Trivoli emerged from that night to cherish the rest of her time with the young nurse, Danni Bossard, for she would never know when the next time would come that she would be graced with her company might come along. She vowed to herself, more than anything, to be able to carry her always within the realms of her heart.



* * *

The days moved swiftly now as each worked long, tedious hours until the day arrived that Garrett was no longer needed to help out. The few days spent in David’s company had been more than enlightening. The slightly chubby teddy bear of a man showed her all of the grace and charm that a well-schooled host could offer his guests. It would have been easy for him to turn on her with anger, but he didn’t, and instead explained his well-defined black eye as one being received by a delirious and wildly swinging patient under his care. He had no intent to single her out, but instead felt for the woman as she was coming to terms with her life.


As she left that last day, David had offered his hand in friendship and meant it. Garrett took it and thanked him for his understanding of her beleaguered soul. He would be the first of many that she would need to say good-bye to. With some, it would not be as difficult but with others, she dreaded the day that was coming.


Her time had been short in this rural community but she had learned a few valuable lessons, ones that she would never forget. And with that, she got into her Blazer and headed back to Pittsburgh.



* * *

Danni waited patiently for her roommate to arrive home. She’d gotten word through Dr. McMurray that the Flight team would be back in service for the Memorial Day Weekend. Delighted by the thought, she readied for their first flight together again as a team. With the end of the work day fast approaching and no sight of the large stoic surgeon, she gathered up her gear and headed home to where she hoped one tall, dark and dreadfully missed surgeon would be waiting to see her face.


Pulling into the parking space outside her house, Danni got out of her Malibu and scoured the street for the familiar black, full-size Blazer. It was not there. Perhaps she had run into a late surgery or had trouble on the road. The nurse’s mind thought for a minute to use the number of her cell phone but thought that it might seem too needy on her account. Walking up the steps to her front door, Danni paused and looked one last time up and down the street, but there was nothing. She entered the door and pulled it tightly closed behind her.


Her routine was running its normal pattern as she shuffled through the mail and sorted it out. It was an easy sort as everything was for her except one lone envelope addressed to Dr. Garrett Trivoli, M.D. She looked at the envelope curiously, as it was not the first from that same place. "Arizona, huh?" Danni tapped it on the palm of her hand. "They must be eager to entice her." She laid the letter on Garrett’s side of the desk and went on to her next chore, dinner.


Moving into the kitchen, Danni made herself a large salad for dinner and pulled out a chair to sit down and eat it. Her attention was distracted by the sound of someone trying the front door. With a surge of anticipation a mile long, Danni sprinted for the door, convinced that it was her missing roommate. Pulling the door open, Danni was surprised to see the figure of her brother poised to knock on the door. "Gar…Matt?" The look on her face was one of utter disappointment. "What are you doing here?"


"Hi, Sis! Nice to see you too." He said sheepishly.


"Oh, Matt, sorry, I forgot you were coming." She pulled the door wide open and welcomed him in. "Come on, let me get you something to drink. Have a seat and I’ll be right in."


Matt did so and took a seat in the first available chair. He watched as his sister went out on the doorstep and looked up and down the street for the familiar vehicle. Not having seen it, she came back in and closed the door.


"Water, juice, beer, wine?" she asked him as she breezed in toward the kitchen.


"A beer would be fine, Danni. It will help me to unwind."


"So, what’s so important that you need to come here to see me and to meet Garrett?" Danni yelled in from the kitchen. "Is mother in a snit about something?" She decided to play dumb and not acknowledge the letter she had received.


"Well, Sis," he took the beer and opened it. "Mother wanted me to check out this Garrett and make sure that you were being well taken care off." He eyed her rather flat stomach as she walked past him and thought about the possibilities. "How have you been feeling lately? I mean…nothing to put you into the hospital for?" He’d hoped that she would not be foolish enough to use some scumbag wannabe doctor to do an abortion.


Danni sat down on the couch and interlaced the fingers of her hands on her knee. "Now Matt, it’s just you and me here. Tell me what this is all about?"


"Mother seems to think that you are…or were…pregnant." He grimaced. "She even thinks that it was with twins, by Garrett of course."


Danni burst out laughing. "Me, pregnant?" She shook her head. "The woman is delusional, I’m still a virgin." The red blush started up her face with that statement.


"Well, you know Mother. It only takes one thing to get her going off on a tangent."


"And I bet that one thing was Brie."


"Well, Danni, you did give a few of us the idea."


"When, and how?" She was curious now more than angry.


"Let’s face it, Danni, you refused your wine at Christmas dinner, you took naps with Gunny and you were queasy when breakfast rolled around that next morning." He shrugged. "I even gave it a thought in the back of my mind."


"Why didn’t you just ask me? I would have told you."


"Hey, it was a holiday. Do I have to be a lawyer all the time?" They both chuckled at the thought.


"So why are you investigating this now?"


"Well, by Mother and Brie’s recollections, your phone conversations have been…" he cleared his throat, "rather explicit of what you and Garrett are doing in your time together."


"Huh?" Danni’s brow furrowed with concern. "I don’t understand. They asked me what was going on and I told them about our helicopter flights."


Matt tried hard not to laugh. "Well, do you remember telling Mother about you knowing how to watch out for ‘a spinning tail rotor’? Or that you and Garrett had been up and down so many times that it was taking up all your sleeping time?"