Without warning, the helicopter was shifting and causing the blonde to settle backward into her seat once again. What had been so close for the taking, now seemed miles away. "Hey…"
The surgeon shook her head and turned abruptly to the pilot. "What the…" her voice was gruff and demanding.
"Sorry! I should have warned you." The pilot was astutely aware of the ship and airspace around him. "They’re requesting us for a scene run. I thought you heard that." He tapped his helmet motioning to the speaker each one had.
Danni grew warm as the blush started up her neck. She had been so engrossed in those lips that she had lost all sense of where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Drawing in her breath in short gasping spurts, the young woman tried to calm her raging soul. ‘I was so close…I wonder if…’ the petite woman looked up into the sky searching for the answer, ‘just maybe she feels the same.’
Closing her eyes and nodding in acknowledgement, the surgeon let out a long breath. She blinked trying to fight to control these strange feelings she was experiencing. She wasn’t sure where the earlier effort was leading but something deep within her seemed caught up in that moment. She stole a glance in Danni’s direction only to find the nurse just as confused looking as she herself felt. ‘I could have really blown this whole friendship right out of the water.’ Then letting her eyes drift to the stars that could be seen from the window, ‘That’s all that it was…just caught up in that whole New Year’s moment. But could it be…could she have felt just like I did?’ "Okay, what are we going to and how long before we get there?" The professional in her once again emerging.
Cowboy watched as his two new friends each refused to admit the feelings that he knew they had for each other. He had prayed that he would have been able to ease them along their path. Now he was angered not only at himself but at the world of trauma that robbed these two of such a grand and special moment. It wasn’t often that two people were so right for each other, each one pushing and pulling the other to new levels of achievement. They belonged together for the rest of all time. It was evident to him and with renewed resolve, Cowboy vowed that it would never happen again. At least, not if he could help it. "MVA with an entrapment, north of the city on I-79, ETA approximately ten minutes."
"What’s so special about this one that would require our team?" The nurse was trying to get back into her professional manner.
"The entrapped woman is in hard labor with contractions four minutes apart." The pilot looked into the mirror that reflected the figures in the rear compartment. It was then that he saw the stoic mask of the surgeon slide into place as Garrett prepared for the job that she would have to undertake. Cowboy thought, ‘Now how does that line go…ringing out the old and in with the new? I sure hope not.’
The shock of blonde hair that could be seen as they approached the wreckage made Danni stop dead in her tracks. She gasped and blinked, trying to steady her pounding heart that was now gripped with terror. "Brie?" ‘By the gods, not this way!’ The nurse was losing her fight to remain the professional that she was. The panic-filled eyes riveted to the figure next to her. "Gar…" Her small hand clutched at the surgeon’s leather clad arm.
Garrett saw the consternation in Danni’s eyes. Looking at the wreckage and then back to her young friend’s hair, she could see the resemblance in the color. The surgeon held on to the nurse’s upper arms and bent over to look her directly in the eyes. "Danni, it could just be somebody that looks like her. Stay here! I’ll go see if they know who it is." She paused, only for a moment, letting her silent gaze express her concern. Then she turned to leave, but was stopped short by the grasp of a small hand on her sleeve.
"I’m going with you. I’m a professional and even if that turns out to be my sister, she’s going to need the both of us." Her eyes were filled with determination. "Remember, we are a team."
The surgeon nodded slowly, letting only the corners of her mouth edge upward. She was pleased that Danni would be at her side.
The closer that they got to the wreckage, the severity of it became more evident. The dark colored car could barely be recognized as such with all of the distortion and twisting of the metal. The bustle of rescue workers on the passenger side of the vehicle was almost deafening. The whining hum of their hard-pressed hydraulic tools straining with force as they tried to free the entrapped woman laden with child.
The surgeon made her way around the scene to the other side where the ambulance stood; its flashing strobe lights acting like a sentinel to the grizzly scene. The lone attendant’s attention was glued to the activity as she stood by the stretcher waiting to be called into action.
The appearance of the tall surgeon went unnoticed until she spoke. "Do you know who that is?"
The resounding voice caused the woman dressed in regular clothing in a heavy parka with the letters ‘E.M.S.’ on the back of it to turn quickly in surprise. "Huh?" The woman’s eyes roamed the tall figure trying to recognize the form.
"Dr. Trivoli, Fight Surgeon. They requested my team. This is Nurse Danni Bossard." Garrett held out her hand in greeting. "Do you know the woman’s name?" She looked over to the wreckage and then settled back on the attendant.
"Oh, …sorry, Doc." She clasped the offered hand in greeting, not wanting to be rude. "Yeah, it’s Bre…"
Garrett’s heart jumped at the sound that the medic was emitting, her eyes glancing over at her nurse. ‘Please, don’t let it be her.’
"Bre…" She was obviously racking her memory, "…nda…Brenda Connors."
Danni closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank you!" Danni hung her head realizing that it was someone else’s loved one instead. ‘What would I have told Mother and Dad or Matt? I can’t let anyone else have to do that.’
The surgeon quickly regained her composure and delved right into business now that her question was answered. "What do we know about her. When is her due date? Who’s her Obstetrician?" Garrett began eyeing the back of the ambulance thinking that in a pinch it may have to do for an operating room.
"Hey, Doc, I ain’t no medic or nothing. They all left with the people in that other car. They were hurt pretty bad. It’s just Ed over there and me."
"What exactly are you and Ed?" Danni finally spoke up.
"Ed’s in EMT class right now and I’m just a driver." She gulped at the look that she was receiving from the taller woman. "Heck, we ain’t got but two medics in the whole town. Our two EMTs went with the other ambulance. They said that they’d send help." She looked over at the helicopter in the distance. " I guess you’re it."
Garrett took off in the direction of the wreckage in search of Ed, while Danni thanked the woman for her help.
"Hey, Are you Ed?" The surgeon yelled over the noise of the tools.