The blonde nodded her head and smiled. "You were always the one that could read my moods. So tell me, how did you know?"
"There’s no real explanation for it. Love just happens, lil’one. One day someone walks into your life and your world just changes. Things that were important no longer matter and all that you can think about is that one person out of all the ones that you know."
"But what if it’s someone that you never expected to love. Someone that you don’t even really know everything about."
"Danni, you never know everything about a person. Why, everyday I find something new out about your mother. That’s what makes it last. There is always another facet to look at and learn."
"Will I know enough to be sure when it happens?"
"That’s assuming that your heart doesn’t already know. Love is a funny thing. It doesn’t always come knocking at our door and announcing itself. Sometimes it comes from places that we least expect it to." He looked his daughter squarely in the eye. "Listen to your heart. That’s how you’ll know."
Danni thought about that for a moment. ‘I can’t believe that my father is such a romantic. I would have never guessed it when I was growing up. I guess we see them in a different light the older we get.’ The young woman opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone.
"I think that you should get that, Danni. I’m afraid that anyone who would be calling me this late at night, is already here." He motioned to the phone in the hallway. "I’m betting that it’s for you. I’m going to head up to bed now, anyway."
The nurse walked briskly to the phone as it rang the fourth time. "Hello, Bossard Residence."
Mr. Bossard passed by his daughter as she greeted the incoming phone call. "Night, lil’ one. Tell Garrett that I said, ‘Merry Christmas,’ too."
"Danni, is that you?" The voice on the other end had a familiar sound to it.
The blonde nodded to her father and answered. "Yeah, Gar, its me." Her voice turned soft. "Night Daddy." Danni waved her hand to the man starting to ascend the stairs. "Hey, my Dad says, ‘Merry Christmas’."
"Wish him the same from me. Maybe one year I’ll get to do it myself."
Danni called to her father at the landing of the stairs in a hushed voice. "Gar, wishes you a ‘Merry Christmas’, too." She watched the man smile and nod his head approvingly. Then she turned her attention back to the phone. "So what’s your night been like so far? Did you get to the O.R. yet?
"Yeah, Nathan was kind enough to leave me with a hot appendix in a twenty year old. It felt good to be back in there. Other than that, it’s been pretty quiet. How was your drive today?"
"Nice! I actually got here earlier than I expected. Dad and I were just sitting and watching the fire die out from earlier tonight. It was nice being able to just sit and talk to him again."
"That’s good. Sounds like you are enjoying the visit then."
"Yeah, I guess I am. My nephew is a howl and he’s been keeping me pretty busy. Oh, Gar…he said to tell you ‘thanks’ for decorating his cookies."
"Why would he say that?"
"Well, I told him that you helped me. I guess he’s heard about your cooking ability already." She could hear the surgeon laughing on the other end. "Somehow, he just assumed that you did the sugar decorating." Danni chuckled. "He’s so cute. I wish you were here to see him."
"Me, too. He sounds like a lot of fun to be around."
"Gar, was there any reason in particular that you called me tonight?"
"I…I just wanted…I needed…." The conversation was now interrupted by the sound of the Trauma Pager beeping in the background. "I…I just called to say ‘Merry Christmas’, Danni, to you and your whole family. Well, I got to go. Trauma calls, you know."
"I wish I was there with you…for the trauma. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Gar. I’ll see you at noon. Bye."
"I’ll be here, come find me when you get in. I’ve really got to go, Dan. We got a Santa coming in that fell off a roof. Bye."
The static on the phone become evident as the line went dead. Danni held the receiver in her hands, not wanting to set it back down on its cradle. In her mind, it was a connection to the tall surgeon, and she didn’t want to let it go. ‘I can’t believe she called me here, at my parents. How did she even get this number?’ A few minutes passed before Danni let the receiver down gently in the cradle.
She looked back over her shoulder to the fireplace to check on the embers. They were out and the living room was dark except for the small light that had always stayed on. The blonde started up the stairs to her room. Her mind mulled over the things that she and her father had talked about earlier. ‘I guess it’s true. The older you get, the wiser your parents become. Well, Dad did at least.’
Entering her old room at the top right of the staircase, she got ready for bed. Danni remembered how alone she had always felt growing up in her family’s home, especially late at night when she would lay in bed trying to go to sleep. That feeling was creeping up on her even now. Finally she got up from the bed, seeking solace. The nurse fingered her leather jacket. ‘If anybody sees me, they’ll think I’m crazy.’ She picked up the garment and put it on. ‘There, now maybe I’ll be able to sleep.’ Climbing back into bed, she nestled down and wrapped her arms around herself. The scent of the leather invaded her thoughts as her mind replayed the emotions and physical senses from earlier in the day when the strength of the surgeon had wrapped around her to protect her. Set adrift with the memory of blue eyes, she fell fast asleep.
Garrett stood waiting for the trauma patient to arrive. The adrenaline rush had started when she was on the phone with Danni. Now, for some odd reason, it was no longer there. The surgeon looked around at the gathered staff members who would be her assembled team for the night. They were all good people but something was missing. Something that she just could not put her finger on, at least not yet.
‘Danni!’ Crystal blue eyes flashed at the realization. Danni was the missing piece of the puzzle. It seemed odd not to have her in close proximity. They had become such a huge part of each other’s world over the last month that now the emptiness was quite evident. Garrett felt at a loss without her blonde-haired nurse at her side. She looked up at the large clock on the wall of Trauma Room One. It was 0020. ‘Only eleven more hours to go without her.’
The Trauma Fellow was caught off guard as the Paramedics wheeled in the man in the red suit and white beard. Rosie nudged the tall woman standing next to her, eyeing her through the clear plastic of the shielded mask that she was wearing. "Hey, Doc! You want to come back down to earth or are you still stuck up in the air?"
The teasing from Rosie broke the trance that the young blonde had held over the surgeon. Danni’s image faded as the professional in her once again took over. "Alright people, on my count." Garrett looked around to the faces of the group, letting her eyes stop at the Trauma Nurse One position. The blonde hair was there but attached to the likes of John. ‘What I wouldn’t give for that to be Danni.’ Sighing, she continued. "One, two, three."