The Fellowship Page 12

  "Rosie, get the medical bag." Danni yelled as she broke into a run following Garrett’s lead in the direction of the injured man.

  The nurse quickly pivoted towards Danni’s fading voice. Seeing the crumpled body on the ground, Rosie realized the urgency and reacted. Dashing over to the bench, she grabbed the carry strap on the bright orange over stuffed bag and shouldered it. "Mom, we got a man down! We’re gonna need some help."

  The coach turned in Rosie’s direction, throwing the line-up rooster that she had been studying in the air. "Where…. Who…?" her words were sharp. The not-so-in-shape Karen followed after the tall nurse heading into the spectators. There she could see Danni and Garrett kneeling next to a man lying on the ground. She knew by the actions what was taking place, the man was having a difficult time breathing. ‘Awww, shit! We can’t even get away from work at the annual picnic.’ She thought to herself as she continued onward, the sound of the man’s stridor growing louder with each step.

  "Here’s the bag. What do you need?" Rosie set the bag on the ground, unzipping it quickly.

  "Do you have a trach tube?" The surgeon was removing any clothing around the upper chest area of the downed man.

  "Yeah, we do!" Danni assured her. "Give her a scalpel and some Betadine, too." The blonde nurse directed Rosie as she rummaged through the bag.

  Within seconds, a small bottle of Betadine was handed to Danni. She quickly opened it and poured it onto the base of the man’s neck. Garrett had grabbed the offered 4x4’s and wiped the disinfectant off the front of the neck. Rosie offered the surgeon a pair of sterile gloves, which she easily donned. Danni had the tracheostomy tube unpacked and was testing the cuff for leaks with a 10cc syringe as the trauma surgeon made the first incision with the disposable scalpel.

  "Karen, could you move a little to the left? You’re in my light." The surgeon looked up towards the sun.

  "Oh, yeah! Sorry, not used to being out of the trauma rooms, Doc." The charge nurse answered a little short of breath as she sidestepped allowing the sunlight to illuminate the man’s neck. She grabbed a piece of the discarded 4x4-gauze wrapper and the pencil from behind her ear, settling into the job of charting the aid given to the downed man. She glanced at her watch, making a note of the time on the scrap paper.

  "Let’s get an IV going, Ringers Lactate please." The surgeon’s eyes flicked to Rosie.

  "Sure thing, Doc." The nurse laid the trach tube tie down on the patient’s chest.

  The surgeon handed the used scalpel to Danni in exchange for the tracheostomy tube. She paused to wipe the trickle of blood from the incision with a piece of gauze before inserting the life saving apparatus into the new hole in the base of the patient’s neck. The blonde nurse connected the syringe to the tubing and inflated the small cuff with air to secure it from dislodging. Garrett held the tube in place as small skilled hands hastened to attach the tie-down to the tube and around the man’s neck. The man was breathing on his own with no sounds of stridor now. The color of the man’s skin was pinking up again attesting to the fact that the airway was secure.

  "IV’s in!" Rosie proclaimed, "18 gauge in the left forearm with Ringers Lactate running at a KVO rate."

  "Good, now let’s get a set of vital signs." The surgeon continued on with the secondary survey, searching for any other possible injuries to the downed man.

  As Garrett reached to examine the torso of the man, Danni took the small cell phone from the surgeon’s belt and flipped it up to Karen. "Hey, Mom! Wanna get us an ride to the hospital?"

  Karen caught the phone with ease, "Yeah, guess he can’t wait until the next inning is over, huh?" She fumbled slightly trying to open the small phone. Dialing the number 911 she waited for the dispatch operator to answer. She gave the nature of the emergency, the location and added that the site was that of the ER picnic. She assured the operator that highly trained personnel were taking care of the victim but that they needed an ambulance to get the patient to the hospital. She ended the call, flipping the phone shut. "They’ll be here soon."

  "BP is 146 over 92." Danni was taking the stethoscope out of her ears.

  "Pulse is 112 and strong, respiration 24 and regular." Rosie looked up at Dr. Trivoli.

  "No other injuries found, all bones intact and abdomen soft." Garrett looked up at her makeshift team, "Good work, everyone."

  Ian McCormick had ventured over to the group to lend a hand. Seeing that all was taken care of, he stood back and watched the nearly silent exchange of glances between the Trauma Surgeon and the small blonde nurse. Each one knowing what was on the mind of the other with only a word or two being spoken. It was something that he had not seen very often, especially within a few days of meeting someone. The ER attending pondered that thought and placed it into a file deep within the recesses of his mind for future reference.

  The sound of the ambulance entering the picnic area was heard in the background, with it’s short blasts of the siren to clear a pathway up to the ballfield. Rosie replaced the equipment into the orange bag, zipping it shut.

  She stood up and shouldered it once more. Karen finished her charting and walked over to the paramedic exiting the driver’s door. Exchanging a few words with the medics and giving up the makeshift chart in her hand, she waved at Rosie to come join her.

  "Thanks for inviting me, Danni." The surgeon looked over at her friend. "You know that I’m going to have to go to the hospital with him, right?"

  "Well, don’t think that I’m handing off to a medic, Doc." Her green eyes twinkling at the thought. "I’m going with him, too."

  The surgeon nodded slightly and allowed the faint hint of a smile to come to her face. She was beginning to like this spunky little blonde nurse; maybe she should give this friendship thing a try.

  The patient was loaded into the back of the ambulance with the one paramedic stepping around to the driver’s door. The other turned and looked at the two women. "Ladies, if you please." He offered his hand to Garrett.

  The Surgeon raised an eyebrow towards her hairline and met the green eyes of the nurse. Each of them letting one corner of their individual mouths curling up into a smirk. Garrett turned to the paramedic, her eyes became steely blue in color and she began to open her mouth to speak. The nurse, choosing to be a diplomat, spoke up drawing the paramedic’s attention to herself. " Thanks for the offer, but I think we can handle this ourselves," a forced smile on her face as her nose wrinkled slightly.

  The paramedic shrugged his shoulders, "Have it your way then." He stepped into the back of the ambulance. Then seating himself in the chair at the head of the stretcher, he began turning on the communication radio.

  Danni scrambled up into the ambulance, her short legs stretching to reach the top step. She quickly sat down on the long crew bench opposite the patient and slide down its length, stopping at the area of the patient’s chest. The surgeon was a step behind her, easily accessing the inside of the ambulance with her tall frame. She obviously had no trouble in closing the double doors at the rear of the ambulance, making sure that they were locked before she slid further up the bench. The nurse began to attach the patient to the electronic monitoring devices onboard in preparation for the ride to the hospital. Seeing that both women were seated, the paramedic signaled the driver to start the journey to the Trauma Center. "Let’s make it a nice and easy ride, Pat."

  The driver looked up into the rearview mirror and gave a short two fingered half salute to her partner. "Nice and easy, gottcha!" She paused momentarily to look in the mirror, giving a quick wink and subtle nod. She was going to give the hospital people a ride that they wouldn’t forget any time soon. She watched as her fellow paramedic stepped out of her line of vision and back into his seat. Putting the gear selector into drive, she slowly eased out of the grassy area of the park. A devilish grin appeared on her face as her hand slipped over several of the master control buttons on the panel to her right.

  Garrett looked over to the monitoring devices, taking in all the info
rmation that they offered her about the patient. In this age of technology, these high tech luxuries were standards of care in the larger cities, thereby giving the paramedics the time and free hands to deliver more advanced life saving care to the patient. It made her think of the times she had served on the community ambulance during her college years. Less than fifteen years ago, but it seemed like centuries. Back then, everything was done by hand to obtain the patient’s vital signs; except for the cardiac monitor, those big and bulky LifePaks that it took one person alone to carry.

  "Little bump," was heard as the driver cautioned the rear passengers. The rig was going over the curb into the parking area for the ballfield. Slowly it crawled forward. The driver’s front tire being the first to descend to the asphalt lot. Each tire individually and with no steady rhythm dropped to the level of the parking lot. The constant shifting of the ambulance made for a continuing sway in the back of the rig long after the curb was gone.

  The Ex-Flight Surgeon smiled as she remembered the feel of the ship under her body. It brought to mind her days in the Navy. Funny how your mind could be stimulated by something as simple as a gentle rocking motion, she mused, as she thought about her first day onboard ship. The crew had warned her that it would take a few days for her to get her sea legs. Boy, were they right! She chuckled now to herself as she remembered looking like a drunken sailor, staggering from side to side just trying to walk across the deck that first day.

  The touch of the small hand grabbing her leg interrupted Garrett’s thoughts. She looked over to see Danni using all of her extremities to try to stop the swaying motion of her petite body. The nurse’s head was bobbing back and forth, a pensive look coming across her face. Small droplets of perspiration were surfacing on her upper lip and forehead. The surgeon placed her hand on to her friend’s back in an attempt to steady her, "Are you alright?"

  The blonde nurse mustered a slight smile and looked at the doctor, "Yeah, I just forgot how bouncy these rigs are." She swallowed several times, her eyes darting between the paramedic and the surgeon. Her hand left its position on Garrett’s leg, slowly bringing it up to wipe the moisture on her upper lip. Nervously she asked "Is it getting warm in here?"

  "Hey, Pat, you got the air on?" The medic looked forward into the driver’s compartment.

  "Yeah, on high, too. It must be cutting out again." She tapped the panel and toggled the switch on and off. "I’ll have to let maintenance know about that, sorry," the driver offered. She turned her attention back to the road as a smirk came across her face.

  The paramedic looked over at the women shrugging his shoulders; "Not much we can do, sorry. It won’t be long ‘til we are at the hospital."

  The surgeon looked over at Danni, the concern showing on her face. She had to get her mind off the ride. "Could you check for bleeding around the cricothyrotomy site for me and give a listen to his lungs, too. You’re a little closer than I."

  The nurse welcomed the tasks, anything not to think of how sick she was becoming. She looked over to the paramedic, pointing to the stethoscope around his neck; "Do you mind?"

  "No, here, you’re in a better position than me," taking the stethoscope from around his neck and handing it to her. He busied himself with the notion of working on his report, while stealing glances at the young nurse as she stood leaning over the patient assessing his lung sounds. He smiled in appreciation of the loose fitting tank top that revealed breasts incased by a sports bra. As if on cue, the ambulance took a series of left and right turns causing Danni to be jostled from side to side. The medic’s smile got bigger seeing the mounds of flesh bounce around disclosing the raised nipples.

  Garrett reached out to steady the nurse, an eyebrow raising as her blue eyes pinned a warning stare in the medic’s direction, realizing what he was enjoying. It was hard to get a grip on the young nurse; her hands slid on Danni’s skin trying to brace her sweaty body. The doctor also was beginning to perspire as she grasped onto the nurse’s cloth-covered hips tugging gently to bring her down into the seat again.

  "Hang on!" The driver yelled as she slammed on the brakes avoiding a near collision.

  The ambulance lurched forward to a stop as the momentum of the human cargo continued on. Danni landed face down in the lap of the startled paramedic, with Garrett lying across the bench seat still grasping onto her elastic waist shorts.

  Letting go with a string of expletives under her breath, Pat looked into the rearview mirror to check on her passengers. "You guys okay back there?" She watched as the surgeon slowly raised her head, a stunned look coming across her face.

  Garrett opened her eyes to see the exposed buttocks of the nurse delicately outlined by the iridescent thong panties only inches away from her face. Her mouth was agape. The surgeon’s mind quickly began to assess the body in front of her, size, color, shape, and asymmetry all being analyzed at the same time. Blinking rapidly, she realized what had happened as she fumbled to push the shorts back over Danni’s hips. This only resulted in the young nurse’s head being buried deeper into the medic’s lap. Finally with no further room to go, the shorts slid into place.

  The small nurse brought her head upward giving a faint smile to the medic. His eyes were bulging out, a surprised look on his face. She began to push herself up off of him saying, "Sorry about that." Her nose wrinkling up as she offered the stethoscope back to him, "You have some really sensitive balls…I mean bells there." She cringed getting up to her feet. "Sprague-Rapport, they have the best diaphragms, you never have to worry about them getting holes or wearing thin. It’s the only one I ever use," she rambled on as the blush grew to a deeper shade of red by the second. "Stethoscopes, that is!"

  The surgeon tapped the embarrassed nurse on the shoulder, "How did his lungs sound, Danni?" She was trying to help both her friend and the medic who was starting to hyperventilate, his gaze dropping down to his pants. "The patient, how did the lungs sound?"

  "Ah…" she thought for a second, "clear bilaterally with good and equal inspirations." The nurse’s color was returning to a more normal shade. She randomly surveyed the electronic monitoring, "Looks like the vitals are all within normal." The patient looked no worse for wear; after all, he had been belted in on the stretcher.

  The driver had parked the ambulance and climbed into the back of the rig to examine the condition of her human cargo. There in the captain’s chair at the head of the stretcher was her co-worker. She could tell that the man was going to lose it at any moment. She let her gaze drop to where he was staring. His pants where stretched to an expanding point, the zipper threatening to burst apart at any minute.

  The hackles on her neck rose as she thought of the mountains of paperwork and endless explaining she was going to have to do to her superiors if this situation suddenly exploded into something even more embarrassing. Thinking quickly, she shook the paramedic’s shoulder, "Hey, buddy, can you drive? I think I’m a little too shaken up to get us the last couple of blocks to the hospital." She paused. "Tim, go ahead up front and drive the rest of the way. I’ll stay back here."

  Slowly pulling himself up, he exited the back of the ambulance through the side door and proceeded to the driver seat. Taking in a deep breath, he released the parking brake and pulled out into the street.

  The woman medic did a quick look around at the others. Seeing no injuries, she breathed a sigh of relief. Pat checked the latest vitals on the patient and lifted the phone for radio communication to the awaiting hospital, her attention no longer on her surroundings.

  The two women were again resting on the bench seat. Danni nudged the surgeon with her shoulder, "Thanks for helping me out."

  "No problem. It was the least that I could do." Making a silly face the surgeon deadpanned, "Silk, huh? Nice color."

  Her eyes quickly cast to the ground. The nurse’s voice like that of a small child’s, "Yeah."

  It was only a few blocks to go but it was getting harder by the minute for Tim to concentrate on the road. His throbbing anatom
y was causing his mind to battle for control of his actions. How easy it would be to just let his mind go where his body so desperately wanted to. The driver’s body subconsciously rocking back and forth in time with his pounding heart. Soon the vehicle was exaggerating his pelvic thrusting as his foot pushed and released on the gas pedal. Sweat pouring from his brow, trying to just get them to the damn hospital. There it was just a block away; he could see the driveway to the emergency room. Now, if he could just hold out a little longer, relief would not be far away. "Please, God, I know that I’m always asking for this, but just let me keep it up five more minutes. Please!" He implored under his breath as he pulled the ambulance to a stop. He hastily threw open the driver’s door and sprinted to the rear of the ambulance.

  The heat inside of the patient compartment was getting to be unbearable, sweat just running down the three women. Pat was thankful for the long pants and shirt to help catch the moisture. She looked over to the two women in shorts and sleeveless shirts; they appeared to be a cross between wet T-shirt night and mud wrestling as rivers of sweat mixed with the dirt of the softball field on their skin.