The Fellowship

Chapter 4

The bright afternoon sun was filtering in at the edges of the room-darkening blinds as the form began to stir from sleep. The bed was huge compared to the small body that nestled in the middle, with its face buried into the queen-size pillow. The last remnants of a dream still whispered through the fog as one slowly transpired the states of unconsciousness to reality. The dream seemed to have no beginning or end. It was more like fragments of lives through the ages. The same persons reappearing in different scenarios. It was always the same, never a story or a name. Just bits and pieces of someone’s life that had been captured on film yet clipped out for some reason.

The small blonde woman ran her hand through her hair, fighting to come fully into the world of consciousness. Her green eyes opened to a new day as the mind hung on desperately to the last image of her dream; a dark-haired warrior loomed near with a spear clenched in both hands. The image started to fade as the warrior turned to look at her, a twinkle shining in its brave blues eyes. It had not made the transgression into the real world and for this Danni was grateful. It was not that the dream had scared her, but that it was always so cryptic in nature. If only she could understand what it was about or what it meant.

Danni flopped over onto her back, her head settling into the soft fluffy pillow. ‘If only there was some sort of reason or meaning to all of these dreams,’ she thought, smiling to herself. ‘Or nightmares as the case may be.’ Her face changed rapidly to a smirk.

The images had been with her since she could remember. They had always manifested themselves in the moments just prior to awakening. For this reason, Danni had always believed that she needed to try to remember them.

Her hand reached out, capturing the journal that was kept on the nightstand for this reason. Rolling over onto her elbows she hastily opened the book and seized the pen that was clipped to the page of her last entry. Hurriedly dating the page she began to follow her routine of describing her dream so as not to miss a single element before it escaped her. She had often thought that one day they would all make sense. Well, perhaps in her mind some little detail would set off a chain of events that would help her make sense of it all. When and if that would ever happen was beyond Danni’s control. Now, she just did what she could to preserve them until that time came.

Her task done, she began to emerge form the large bed and slowly shuffled towards the bathroom. Her mind turned to the challenges at hand. Time to shower and start a new day in her life.

The briskness of the water always made Danni think she was off somewhere in the forest, bathing in a refreshing mountain stream. There was an odd familiarity to the chilling response that made her shiver with the initial contact. The thought of the warrior now fading from her mind as her body enjoyed the sensation of the water cascading down her naked form. The long shower ritual would allow her mind and body to join together into a single state of consciousness; ready for whatever the day would bring her way.

************

It was the first of July, the starting date of the new medical staff year. The young nurse began to mentally prepare herself for the grueling night ahead. Another year of training, teaching, and maybe even making a friend or two like she had with David. Her mind thought back to their first encounter several years ago when he had just come to the hospital. That shy, boyish intern over the years had matured into a competent surgeon and, along the way, won a place in many of the nurses’ hearts. Danni smiled at the memory, laughing quietly at the numerous times that Rosie had insisted Danni and David would make the perfect couple. She was thankful that the Doctor had never mustered the courage to ask her out. Deep in her heart, she knew that somewhere David would find a mirrored soul that would complement his reserved manner. It just wasn’t hers. Silently, a prayer rose off her lips for the safekeeping of her friend’s soul until that time came.

The locker room door opened, allowing the din from the hallway to break Danni’s train of thought. Her eyes moved toward the door, only to see her fellow trauma nurse bounce through the doorway, her face beaming.

"Ah, Danni, my friend, have you heard the buzz in the E.R. about my Dr. Trivoli?" Rosie asked.

"I haven’t even ventured out through…hey, what do you mean YOUR Dr. Trivoli?" A puzzled look was on her face, she had heard stories that the flirtatious nurse was a fast mover, but could she have already made this supposedly battle-hardened Trauma Fellow surrender to her charm. ‘No, it’s got to be wishful thinking,’ Danni shook her head in wonder.

"Unless Garrett Trivoli is bald, fat, over forty with a wife and kids in tow," Rosie stated looking her straight in the eye, "someone’s gonna be thanking their lucky stars tonight. The surgeon just doesn’t know it yet."

"Well, this I want to see. The poor guy won’t know what to think when he sees you across from him in the trauma suite," she teased. "So what’s this buzz that you were asking me about?"

"It seems that my Garrett ran the trauma team with all new faces this morning for that multiple gunshot patient like it was a well-oiled machine. They had four units of blood hung, X-rays done, and patient to the O.R. in less than twelve minutes." Her face was registering sheer bliss. "The staff is saying that Trivoli’s voice was like a god’s."

The blonde nurse was shocked. This was the day every year that never ran perfectly, especially for a Level One Trauma, not at the beginning of the daylight shift. Her interest was peaked; she could not wait to see this surgeon in action. "Did the patient survive?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course," Rosie said with an arrogant flair. "But only after many hours of difficult surgery and painstaking care to prevent any complications down the road to recovery."

"I guess the patient was lucky, huh."

A broad smile came to the starry eyed nurse, "Funny, that’s what Steve named him, Lucky Doe."

Both nurses were finishing their exchange of summer clothing for the traditional hospital scrub top and pants of the trauma team when Rosie grabbed Danni’s arm and pleaded, "You got to change assignments with me. You be the trauma nurse and let me back you up as butt nurse. O.K.?"

"Alright, but why the change?"

"This way I’ll be standing next to that dreamy god of a trauma surgeon. Who knows, a little bump here," she demonstrated a seductive hip rotation, "and a little whiff of perfume there," she bent over to show a gaping opening of her V-neck top and the cleavage contained within, "I could be a doctor’s wife in no time at all."

Danni gently laughed. "Sure, this should be something to watch and I’ll be the one with the front row seat. So…what does this god of yours look like?"

Rosie stopped short turning to her co-worker with a deadly serious expression on her face, "Tall, dark and gorgeous, of course."

Both burst into laughter as they made their way through the locker room door.

************

Karen was rounding the corner of the desk as the two giddy nurses entered the E.R. triage station. With a look of a mother about to scold her children, the charge nurse began to address the unprofessional behavior of the duo.

"You girls need to get to work," then with the wink of one eye, "people will think that this is a fun place to be."

"Yeah, Mom!" The young nurses said in unison as they quickly turned the smiles into frowns.

The three seriously studied each other for a moment and slowly let smiles shine across their faces.

"Are you alright, Mom? I mean after this morning’s near collision on the way out I thought you might call off," Rosie queried.

"No little intern or med school student gets me rattled." A look of determination was on her face. She was a seasoned veteran and not about to let them get to her.

"That one sure wasn’t little, looked more like an ‘amazon’ to me. A giant amazon at that," Rosie remarked. "I still think I’m going to give her a piece of my mind the next time I see her."

Always being the one to seek out peaceful alternatives to a situation, Danni offered, "Why not let me show her the ropes. You know, sort of take her under my wing. Hey, look how David turned out."

"Oh yeah! David was so shy that after all these years he still couldn’t get the courage to ask you out." Rosie shook her head, "I don’t think this is the cuddly teddy bear type, not that kind of personality at all."

Danni resented the implied comment. "You don’t think I can do it, do you?"

"Now girls," Mom jumped in, "let’s give Danni’s way a try first. If it doesn’t change the behavior pattern for the better we can always do something else."

"Yeah, I’ll crucify her good."

"My way first, right?" The blonde looked straight into Rosie’s eyes. It was a look that meant business.

Slowly the nurse conceded in her posturing. With her eyes closed and her head minutely shaking approval she voiced, "Right."

"Okay then, it’s over. Danni, you have one month to get some work in on that med student." Karen looked at Rosie. "Agreed?"

"Agreed. You better work fast, Danni. This special project of yours, she is gonna need a lot of work."

"Let me worry about that," her tone was reassuring.

"I bet you brought home strays of all kinds when you were growing up." Karen was chuckling to herself at the thought.

"Well, mostly birds…kittens…puppies," the small blonde winced at the thought of being busted, "and a turtle once."

"Well, now you’ll be able to add an ‘amazon’ to that menagerie," the charge nurse laughed. "Now, time to get to work," she said making an effort to shoo them on their way.

The two co-workers walked over to the nurses’ station and checked the assignment board for their names. As Rosie had predicted, she was assigned the Trauma R.N. position and Danni as her Butt nurse. She looked over at the blonde nurse with a pouting expression on her face.

"I said I would switch with you," Danni reassured her as she reached up and erased their names only to write them back in the reverse position.

"Ooh! I’ll name our first kid after you," she said rubbing her hands together.

"Thanks!" Rosie reached out and gave her co-worker a quick hug.

"Don’t mention it. You know that you owe me, don’t you?" The blonde shook her head disgustedly, "Now, I have to get report from John." Her face twisted up and a chill went over her body at the thought. "Well, better to get it over with quickly." The blonde looked around trying to find the disgusting man but he was nowhere in sight.

***********

It was another busy day in the emergency room; the hallways were lined with patients on carriages waiting to be transported to various destinations within the medical center. The nurse could hear muffled sounds coming form each doorway she passed on her way to the trauma suites. Years of

experience gave her an idea of the ailments or injuries of each patient. Subconsciously, her brain began to register and categorize each one.

Soft rhythmic wheezes…’Room 8: Asthmatic.’

Dimmed lighting and snoring sounds…’Room 9: Post Ictal Seizure.’

Bubbly sounding short breathes…’Room 10: Congestive Heart Failure.’

Soft groans mixed with angered muttering…’Room 10: Orthopedic injury, probably broken.’

It was the usual gamut of complaints typical for July with its mixture of sunshine and oppressing heat and humidity at times. It was no different than any other year. The only thing that ever seemed to change was the cast of characters, both patients and staff.

‘Its like that movie "Ground Hog Day",’ Danni mused, ‘we just keep doing it over and over again until we get it right…until it becomes the perfect day.’

The young nurse turned at the end of the hall into the trauma area. The area was quiet and had an almost eerie feeling to it. She began to check each room for readiness and also the nurse she was to receive report from, John.

Danni was thankful that it was not busy in her domain, it meant that she would not have to jump right into the middle of a life or death situation without knowing the whole story. It was her belief that each patient treated was not just an injury but rather a story in itself. In order to heal the wound it was often necessary to reach out to the soul. Her patients always appreciated this effort. It made them feel like they were being treated as a person and not some anatomical practice dummy, who was there only for the benefit of the medical community.

Leaving the last of the four trauma rooms, the nurse spied John seated in the conference room sitting intently in front of the television that was used for video taped inservices and the reviewing of taped procedures. She could see his moon-pied facial expression, his eyes riveted to the screen and shook her head in disgust. ‘Good gods, he’s got to be watching a porno tape or worse yet, maybe one of his own escapades with some unsuspecting young girl. Ugh!’

Swallowing hard, she walked into the conference room trying not to look at the screen. "Are you ready to give me report, John?" Her tone was very professional. Seeing that he could not tear his eyes off of the action on the screen, she asked, "Can’t you watch this stuff in the privacy of your own home instead of here?"

"Yeah! Maybe I can make a copy of this. Thanks for the idea." He looked quickly up at Danni and then right back to the screen. "It will be over in a minute, you just got to see the raw beauty, the magnificent orchestration of the action with only minimal direction. It’s literally poetry in motion."

Danni rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t want to see this!’ Her mind cringed at the thought. ‘Why did I agree to switch? Rosie, you really owe me big time.’

Static now filled the room as John hit the rewind button on the controls. He slowly inhaled and allowed the trapped breath to emerge as a long drawn out sigh. He was trying desperately to savor the moment. He closed his eyes, a

smile appearing on his face. It was as if he was reviewing it all over again on the back of his eyelids.

"John!"

"Shhh…!" He drew his finger up to his pursed lips. "Please, it’s not often that there is so perfect a moment."

"Just what is on that tape?"

The male nurse opened his eyes. "You want report, right?"

"Well, yes!"

"Then you need to see this video of the first Level One of the new staff year. It’s simply breathtaking." John winked at her, "I know you will enjoy it."

Danni’s mind raced, trying to figure out what could it possibly be that was so delightful that John would enjoy in this trauma scenario. ‘It was probably a big bosom…no, let’s not go there,’ she immediately halted that train of thought.

‘I’ll hate myself for this, but…’ "Okay, show it to me."

Eagerly he pointed the control to the TV and tapped the play button. The clip of video began to play. The patient was hurriedly wheeled into the room and quickly transferred to the trauma stretcher. A commanding voice was snapping out snippets of phrases, directing the flurry of activity for all those in the room. The action was simultaneous and as John had called it, well orchestrated. Danni’s mind was distracted when she caught the appearance of the tall dark haired figure at the bottom of the screen. It was her ‘amazon.’ She was going to have a lot of work to do with her, she wasn’t even were she should have been stationed around the trauma patient. She made a mental note to go over the correct stations for each rank of medical personnel in the trauma setting with her new project. Before she knew it, the patient was being wheeled briskly out of the room. The tape was finished, static noise again filling the air.

"Isn’t that voice like a god’s?" he said awestruck. "And that, is what trauma is all about. Yes, sir, I’ll work with that Trauma Fellow Garrett Trivoli any day. I might get to like it even better than sex…well, at least here at work."

Danni was shocked that she had been wrong about John. He was always so predictable. No one would believe this; she still didn’t herself.

John got up from his chair and handed the trauma pager over to his relief. "If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get to see a master in action."

"Yeah, maybe." Danni asked pensively, "Say, John, what does this Trivoli look like?"

"I don’t really know, everything happened so fast. But that voice, I would know it in my sleep." John turned to leave, "In fact, I think I’d follow it anywhere. Have a good night."

Danni ejected the tape from the VCR player thinking about her special project for the month. She did not want to belittle the student but she could definitely see the need for some guidance. A little attention now and she might just become a half-decent doctor or surgeon in the future. ‘And if done in the proper manner, maybe even someone that she could think of as a friend.’ The nurse turned off the TV and headed towards the door.

*************

The regular emergency room patients kept the staff busy. It was a full house. As quickly as a room emptied out, it was made ready and the next patient was brought in. Since there were no traumas to worry about, Danni and Rosie helped out wherever they could, answering the nurse calls, starting difficult I.V.’s, discharging patients, and assisting with minor procedures. The evening passed quickly. The flood of patients waiting to be seen had dwindled down to only a handful. The hectic pace began to slow down.

"Hey, Danni, I’m going to freshen up a bit." Rosie was motioning towards the locker room. "I want to look nice when those traumas start rolling in. I’ve got a doctor to impress."

The blonde nurse shook her head and waved her to go on. "I’m going to double check the rooms."

It was almost 11P.M., the time when the hot humid air kept people awake and irritable. The cycle of trauma would start to be put in motion. It was inevitable. She could just feel the vibes in the air.

Danni did a fast run through of all the rooms in the trauma suite, satisfied that they were all ready for the barrage of traumas that would likely come their way. She turned out of the last room at the end of the hall only to see a tall dark haired form emerge from the stairway at the opposite end. The size, the color, the build were all right; it was her ‘amazon’. ‘Perfect!’ she thought. ‘I’ll start teaching her without anyone else around.’ The nurse waited patiently for her student to come within talking distance.

"Hi, my name is Danni, and I’m the trauma nurse for tonight." She held out her hand in friendship, which was returned with a gentle nod and a skeptically raised brow. The handshake was firm and to the point. The tall woman started to introduce herself, when Danni held up her hand in a halting motion for the woman to stop. The figure complied looking puzzled.

"Please, no names. I saw the video of the Level One Trauma from this morning, I thought that I might be able to help you feel a little more comfortable when the next trauma comes in." The nurse took the woman’s hand and slowly brought her over to the diagram on the wall. "Here, let me show you the proper placement of the medical personnel in the trauma rooms. Each of these positions has a specific duty to perform without hesitation. In this manner the least amount of time is used to get the most information and procedures done." Danni looked up at the tall woman’s face to make sure that everything she was saying was understood. ‘By the gods, she is beautiful!’ Her mouth was agape.

The woman watched in amazement at the expression on the nurse’s face. She was taken aback by the friendliness of the young woman, the kindness shown earnestly in her sea green eyes. She had no wish to make the blonde feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, even without McMurray’s directive but she just wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. McMurray’s directive came running headlong through her mind. Garrett drew in a breath, trying not to sound annoyed. There was just something about those eyes, perhaps it would come to her later. "So what and where am I?"

"Well, that all depends on what level of training you possess. Every level is important, but some more than others." Danni was in her reassurance mode, "You don’t have to tell me, just go to that spot when the trauma comes in and I’m sure that you will do perfectly fine. Okay?" Her head was nodding in the affirmative manner, hoping for some sign of understanding.

"Yeah, I think that I can follow that pretty well." Her lopsided grin appeared again as she thought about McMurray’s talk. She just wanted to tell this impertinent little nurse who she was and be done with it. Resigning herself to her delegated state, she added dryly, "Thanks for the help."

"You’re welcome, anytime," was the eager response. Danni thought momentarily and decided to venture into the near collision episode of earlier that morning. "You know, you really have to be a little more careful when responding to the trauma page. You nearly ran a few of us over." She was trying to make a point without causing the obviously over zealous woman any embarrassment.

‘This nurse doesn’t know who I am.’ The woman cleared her throat. It was a stalling technique she had learned long ago to keep her anger in check. "Ah…sorry about that." She hedged a little and then asked, "Nobody was injured, I hope." ‘There, take that. See, McMurray, I can play nice.’

"No, but you did put the fear of God into Karen, the charge nurse. She was pretty shaken up."

"Is she here now? I’d like to give her a piece of my…" she stuttered as a visual image of McMurray crossed her mind, "My apology for any scare that I may have caused." The tall woman was trying to sound sincere but to her own ear it wasn’t very convincing.

"I could point her out to you, she is here now." Danni was surprised. This was going all too well. It seemed just too easy. "Or better yet, let me call her back here instead of out in view of everyone."

The nurse picked up the phone, punched in a few numbers and announced over the loud speaker system, "Karen, will you please come to Trauma Room One?" She hung up the phone, turning to smile politely at her new friend. "She’ll be back in a moment."

Karen came quickly down the hall. She was aware that the trauma pagers had not gone off, and she was clueless as to why she was being requested. The older nurse stopped abruptly when she caught sight of the tall, athletic woman that only this morning appeared as a train at full speed coming right for her. ‘How does she do it? She could have the worst patients eating right out of her hand.’ Karen was amazed at how quick Danni could tame any wild human, even this one. "So Danni, what can I do for you?"

The young nurse motioned her to come closer. "This nice young lady would like to talk to you about this morning." She looked over at the tall woman only to see her eyebrow raised and contempt seething from her stance. "Go ahead," she encouraged the woman, "I’ll just finish up back here a little later." She then proceeded down the hall to the front of the E.R. with a huge grin splashed across her face.

There was a moment of silence before the tall woman spoke. "I truly am sorry for doing that this morning. I’m just not familiar with all of the ways to get to the trauma area yet. I know I had to be there quickly. Again, I am sorry."

"Well, thank you. Apology accepted, I mean since it is your first day and all." The nurse was shocked; this was no ‘amazon’ at all. "So, ah…my name is Karen, but a lot of the staff call me "Mom" and you are?" She offered her hand to the tall woman.

"Garrett," she said grasping the nurse’s hand and giving it a firm shake. "Garrett Trivoli, I’m one of the new Trauma Fellows."

The nurse was dumbfounded, "You…you’re the Garrett Trivoli that has everyone shaking in their boots and waiting for the lightning bolt to strike them dead if they don’t obey your decree within a millisecond."

Wincing with embarrassment, the surgeon answered, "I’m afraid so." Then just as quickly, as if to justify her actions, the look on her face hardened. "Why? Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no problem. She…I mean, Danni knows who you are?"

"No, she didn’t let me get a word in edgewise let alone introduce myself. Is she always that talkative?" Secretively the surgeon thought to herself. ‘I didn’t have the heart to tell her. She was being so nice and polite. I think she was actually trying to help me feel comfortable.’ The surgeon scolded herself for even considering the feelings of the nurse. ‘When did they ever play a part in my considerations?’ Then as if to admonish herself, the stoic looking surgeon spit out. "I don’t like a lot of unnecessary talking in my trauma rooms." Her eyebrow rose with the statement.

The two looked down the hallway watching the young blonde nurse. As if on cue, she turned, giving a smile and a little hand wave. Garrett returned the wave as did the charge nurse but at a much slower speed. There was something that made you just want to give in to this imp of a woman, even though it conflicted with your own order of the world. Sensing that she was waving back, the surgeon quickly stopped and shoved her hand deep into the pocket of her starched white jacket.

"Boy is she going to be surprised." Suddenly Karen’s eyes popped wide open, and she began to laugh uncontrollably, "Rosie’s really going to be pissed."

The surgeon looked at the nurse unsure of what she was laughing at. "Is there a problem?"

"No…no…trust me…she’ll get over it." The nurse was still chuckling to herself, "Doc, if it took you almost running me down to save that patient’s life, you go right ahead and do it anytime. We thought that you were some med student or first year intern." Tears were now rolling down the nurse’s cheeks; "I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they find out who you are."

************

Danni was proud of herself; she had started to help the new woman without making her embarrassed. ‘Who knows, she may even turn out as good a surgeon as David. She seems awfully nice.’ The young nurse sat absent mindedly at the desk. She pondered the thought of having a new friend and considered asking her to join in one of the group activities, which was part of the E.R. family outings.

"Well, how do I look?" Rosie was still primping herself as she walked across the room to where Danni was seated.

"I guess, alright. You know scrubs just aren’t all that alluring."

"Okay, enough with the smart ass comments." The nurse took the seat next to Danni.

The young nurse sniffed, then sniffed again closer this time to Rosie. "What is that? It is disgusting."

"You don’t like my new perfume? That’s okay, it’s specially formulated for a man’s nose. It’s supposed to drive a man wild with passion."

"I can’t imagine this making anyone passionate." Danni was wrinkling her nose at the stench.

"Just wait and see." Rosie was confident in her ability to turn the head of the new trauma surgeon.

"See what?" Karen’s face became twisted with the awful smell. "God, can’t you people smell that? It’s worse than a cheap hooker at the end of a three day convention."

Danni started to giggle, while Rosie let the comment drift by, oblivious to those around her. The only thought in her mind was of Garrett Trivoli.

Then, without warning, the sound of the trauma pager brought everyone to the same mental alertness. Each beep shattering their individual thoughts and turning the attention of all to the needs of the next patient being placed within their care.

"Trauma Team Page…Trauma Team Page. Twenty-eight year old male fell from second floor window. Multiple orthopedic injuries and paradoxical breathing noted. ETA five minutes. Level One Trauma Page."

Each member of the team went into action. Danni and Rosie scurried to get back to the trauma room while the charge nurse grabbed the recording flow sheet before making her way to the trauma area. Quickly both nurses dressed in the customary leaded aprons and fluid restrictive gowns, gloves, and masks.

Danni retrieved a drug pack from the medication safe in the room, examining the contents carefully. ‘Paradoxical breathing…huh…chest tube for sure.’ She looked over to see her co-worker already setting up a chest tube tray. ‘Way to go Rosie!’ The rest of the team was now assembling in the outer hall. Each scurrying into the position appointed by their medical ranking while desperately trying to finish dressing. Out of the corner of her eye, Danni could see her new friend standing in the hallway finishing the tying of her mask. ‘I guess I slowed her down a little too much. I’ll have to work on that.’

"Trauma is in the Department; Trauma is in the Department," the loud speaker blared.

Last minute details now complete, everyone’s eyes were on the corridor leading to the trauma room. There stood the tall dark haired woman, mesmerized by the moment. The Paramedics wheeled in the patient on the stretcher. A condensed report of the patient’s condition was exchanged while the patient was transferred to the hospital stretcher. The Medic crew now retreated from the room with their equipment. Rosie filled in the empty space on the left side of the patient as she attempted to find a pulse in the deformed arm. The tall dark haired woman now stood at her side, examining the unclad chest of the patient. The labored breathing was evident in both sight and sound.

"Chest X-ray NOW!"

Danni looked up to see her ‘amazon’ in the position of Trauma Surgeon. A troubled look came over her as she quickly glanced at Karen and then back at the dark haired woman. It unsettled her to see the charge nurse start to chuckle.

The Trauma Surgeon examined the patient for any other injuries while the required X-rays of chest, abdomen, and cervical spine were completed.

"The chest is out," relayed the X-ray Tech.

The surgeon stepped out of the room and viewed the patient’s chest X-ray.

There, as plain as anything was a large pneumothorax on the left side, the pressure of the escaped air trapped inside the chest area was collapsing the lung.

"Alright, let’s prep for a chest tube on the left."

Rosie pulled the stand over into position with the necessary equipment already available.

"Give me a size 8 sterile glove," the surgeon commanded.

Turning with the gloves to see the tall dark haired woman waiting to receive them, Rosie blinked in disbelief, then shot a questioning glance across the patient at Danni. The look on Danni’s face was one of innocence. Rosie was dumbfounded. Where was her Trauma Surgeon, Garrett Trivoli? Karen caught the exchange and had to keep herself from laughing out loud.

The surgeon glared at the nurse and repeated, "Gloves, please. We don’t have all day here, nurse."

Fumbling to get a grip on her emotions Rosie offered, "Yeah, doc, size 8."

The surgeon smoothly took the gloves and proceeded to check the assembled equipment as the chief resident prepped the patient’s chest.

"Sir, you have a few badly broken ribs that are making it very hard for you to breathe right now. I’m going to insert a tube into your chest that will make it easier for you to breathe. It’s going to hurt a little while I put it in place, but I promise you, it will feel better, eventually." The surgeon’s voice was full of confidence.

The patient grasped Danni’s hand in anticipation of the pain to come. She looked into his terror-filled eyes and softly spoke words of reassurance to calm him. She knew the routine of the procedure well. She had assisted with chest tube insertions hundreds of times over her years as a trauma nurse. First they would find the level for insertion and then with a blade, make a small shallow laceration in the skin. The surgeon would probe the opening with a fingertip to make sure it was indeed into the chest cavity. The site would then be widened using small forceps so that the skin would form a tight seal around tube when inserted. This part was what nearly all patients complained of as the most painful.

Looking across her patient, Danni could see the dark haired surgeon standing with the Trocar clenched in both hands. Danni’s mind thought back to her dream, startling the young nurse. Her eyes opened wider as she looked at the surgeon poised, ready to send the long blunt tipped rod into the patient’s side. The physician looked at the young nurse for approval. Danni took a breath and gave a slight nod to her head. The surgeon began the insertion of the chest tube, her face taut with concentration; the confident blue eyes focused on the job at hand. All of a sudden there was a feeling of déjà vu, as a chill run down the young nurse’s spine. It was an all too familiar scene but something was missing. Everything seemed so mechanical and devoid of emotion that it reminded Danni of a cyberspace movie. Her attention turned again to her patient. The chest tube was doing its job. The patient was having an easier time breathing.

The Trauma surgeon expertly stitched the tube in place and assisted Rosie with the dressing of the site. "Karen, can you notify Orthopedics to come down to see this patient, please?"

The charge nurse’s voice was loud and clear, "Yes, ma’am!"

"Then secure a C.T. Scan for head and abdomen immediately to follow."

Karen watched her two nurses as she answered the demand, "Yes, Doctor Trivoli."

Both pairs of eyes flashed wildly at the tall dark haired surgeon then on to each other, then finally coming to rest on the charge nurse herself. Rosie’s mind registered sheer disbelief at the thought of HER Trauma Fellow being a woman. Her hopes of marrying a famous surgeon dashed on the rocks, again. Danni shook her head, letting her eyes close and wondered, ‘What kind of idiot does this doctor think I am? UGH!’

The older nurse just watched the expressions on their faces and knew what each one was thinking.