Danni’s brow furrowed as she watched her teammate approach her. "By the gods, I hope they didn’t get into it, again."
The pilot looked with some concern from one crewmember to the other as he remembered the hasty departure after their last stop yesterday. All that he was looking for today was a pleasant morning, enjoying the scenery from above. They only had a few stops to make and then the rest of the day was his. Well, until 2300 tonight when he’d check over the ship for their flight at midnight and the dawning of the year 2001.
In a voice filled with ancient wisdom, Cowboy spoke softly. "It’s a new day in an almost finished year, time to look to the future and not back."
Danni listened to his comment and mulled it over in her head. The more she thought about it, the bigger her smile got. "I like that. I just wish we could get her to live by that one." The nurse’s eyes sparkled at the thought as she tilted her head in the surgeon’s direction.
The pilot nodded in agreement. Then leaning forward, he whispered, "We’ll see what we can do," and winked. Straightening up, he greeted the surgeon as she grew near. "Morning, Doc! We all ready to leave?"
The tall woman rolled her eyes, "I’m not the one in charge today. I’m just coming along for the ride." She looked over to the woman next to him. "Okay, boss," Garrett smirked, "What’s our plan for today?"
Danni let out the breath that she was holding when the lopsided grin emerged on her friend. ‘Thank you!’ Even though she shared the same house with the woman, there were times when she just couldn’t read her moods. Today had been one of them. Garrett had been quiet and withdrawn on their ride to work, and it had worried the nurse that a storm, bigger than the one she was witness to yesterday, was out there lurking on the horizon.
"Hmmm…Let me see." Danni teased as she squinted and tapped on her chin with one finger trying to remember. "Oh, yeah! More meet n’ greets today." The sound of laughter rose from the trio, as did the steam from their breaths as the cold morning air surrounded them.
The pilot shivered and rubbed his coat-covered arms with his hands trying to stimulate some warmth. "Well, it’s too cold out here for me. What do you say we get these under our belts and stay warm for the rest of the day."
Garrett jumped up into the open door of the helicopter then extended her hand out to Danni. "Sounds like a plan to me."
The morning had been pleasant with only a handful of stops to make. Each E.R. Director that they had met with today seemed eager to bring the new service to the attention of their staff, often taking them personally on the tour of the department. The staff would first show signs of hesitancy for fear of their jobs, but once it was explained that this was a specialized team for only the worst of traumas, they soon became friendlier. Nobody wanted to see a traumatized patient die, and if there was some way to prevent it, they wanted to know.
The rides to and from each stop were filled with small talk and teasing as the trio settled into a nice pattern of friendly bantering, each one in turn being teased. The mixture of personalities hadn’t surprised the nurse, but what did was the ease with which Garrett had taken Cowboy into her small circle of friends. Danni supposed that it may have been the shared experience of the military service that bonded them together, but she was happy that her friend was showing signs of her humanity. The cold aloofness that Garrett had exhibited the day before had Danni worried that all of her groundbreaking strides would be reversed. But it hadn’t, and the petite nurse was grateful for it. Before any of them realized it, the helicopter was touching down on their home base. Danni’s mission was over and she had proven herself to everyone, including herself.
Danni made the last of her phone calls before she slumped back into the chair, her sigh loud enough for the surgeon to hear.
"You’re done?" The monotone voice came complete with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep! All ten of the lone survivors that we needed to talk to have been contacted. I think it’s going to be a pretty good turnout on Saturday." Danni sat up straighter. "You getting nervous about it yet?"
"It’s not like I’m going to run the meeting. What should I be nervous about?"
Danni shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t know. Maybe ‘cause it’s your project?"
"Our project, Danni." Garrett corrected her. "You’re as much a part of this as I am." The surgeon studied her friend. "You getting nervous about tonight?"
The nurse wrinkled her nose. "Well, maybe. I mean…I’ve never been up in the helicopter at night. How does he see to land in the dark?"
Garrett smiled at Danni’s honesty. "It’s all by radar. You don’t have to see anymore. Don’t worry, Danni, I’ll be right there with you."
"That’s what I was hoping for." The nurse’s eyes twinkled in delight. "Who wants to be alone at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?"
"Well, you’ll have me and Cowboy for company." Garrett thought for a moment. "If that’s alright with you?"
The blonde nodded and smiled, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Danni thought about all of the years that she had spent on duty as a nurse when the stroke of midnight changed the date from one year to the next. The toasting with ginger ale that was done between staff members had always been her signal that another year had come and gone. The handshakes and pecks on the cheek were nice, but there had never been anything special about them at all. In fact from one year to the next, the nurse couldn’t even remember to whom it was that she first wished a Happy New Year. All of the faces and names of the people seemed to blur in her mind. There was never anything that stuck out as memorable. That was until this year, and she could just feel that things were going to be different.
Garrett logged off of the computer and opened the drawer where her valuables were stowed. Reaching in she gathered them all with a single hand: one wallet, a daily planner and her set of keys. She grabbed her leather jacket from the hook on the door and shoved the valuables into its pockets.
"Well, how about we stop in to see Dr. McMurray and then go home. Not much that we can do around here until later tonight." She looked to Danni all comfy in the chair. "Besides…we both should get some sleep before we actually are on-call for the next six months." She chuckled knowing that the few hours of sleep would never be enough to last that long.
Danni nodded in agreement. "Okay, let’s go see McMurray." She pulled herself into a standing position and took the leather jacket that Garrett was holding out to her. "I guess since I was in charge on this mission I’ll have to give the report." She wondered if any word had gotten out about the confrontation yesterday and decided not to say anything unless McMurray brought it up to her.
They left the small office of the Trauma Fellow and headed for the Chief of Trauma Services. The hallways showed little signs of life as the evening hours were approaching. The holiday atmosphere seemed subdued in the working staff tonight. The skeleton crew that staffed the holidays had more than enough work to keep their minds off the gaiety that would embark on the rest of the world at the stroke of midnight.