They had continued in their lives of making small talk and eating but the main emphasis of their time was just being together. Taking the time to explore the new realm of friendship that they were embarking on, they stole looks at one another and even tender kisses as the fire glowed brightly both in the hearth and in their hearts.
It was during one of those stolen glances that Danni first noticed the gold chain around Garrett’s neck. Following it down to the top of the surgeon’s open shirt, the petite woman recognized the free-floating heart pendant that it carried.
"Something new?"
Garrett looked down to where Danni’s eyes were fixed. "You should know, you left it with Mom to give it to me on my last day."
"I did? Gar, I didn’t give it to Mom…" and then she knew. The staunch old Charge Nurse, Karen, had taken things into her own hands. Danni had looked at the exact same heart with the thoughts of giving it to Garrett if she had ever gotten her courage up to tell her of the love she held for the woman.
"How did Mom know?"
"You mean that you didn’t…"
"No, but I have to admit that I was looking at that exact pendant with the thoughts of telling you that I loved you."
Garrett touched the heart and looked into Danni’s eyes. "Maybe Karen knows us both better than we know ourselves. This heart and your letter finally made me realize that I was just running from opening up my heart and letting you in."
There was silence for a moment as both thought of how their lives were changing.
"Gar, I don’t want any more misunderstanding or miscommunications between us. We’ve wasted too much time with that already."
"I agree. Let’s just be open and honest with each other and take it slow until we both feel comfortable with this. Okay?" The surgeon looked deep into the green eyes, wishing to see the innermost beauty of the woman in her arms. "We need to come to each other with anything that concerns us. I’m sorry that I didn’t do that earlier."
"Agreed. We’ll take it nice and slow but we are going to talk a lot more than before."
"Hmm…talk. I might be able to do that." The lopsided grin spread slowly across her face as she turned back to look at the dying fire. "Well, let me start talking by saying that I’ve got a lot to learn about love, Danni. It’s not something that I’ve had a lot of in my life, at least not in the last 20 years."
The young woman nodded. "I know. I’m not that experienced with it myself, at least not in the physical sense." Danni’s gaze dropped to the floor as the hint of a blush started up her face. "Gar…I’ve never…"
"Shhh." Garrett hushed her and kissed her forehead. "We’re in this together, like a team. We don’t rush into anything until we’re both ready for it. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I understand." Danni looked at the almost non-existent fire and sighed. "I guess it’s bedtime, huh?"
Garrett nodded and looked over to the bunk beds against the wall, not wanting to lose the connection that she had just found. "There wouldn’t be any other bedding in this cabin would there?"
The smile spread slowly across Danni’s face. She too didn’t want their closeness to stop at the thought of sleep. "Yes, there is," and she lifted her gaze to the loft overhead. "It was where my grandfather slept." And she got up from the floor tugging the surgeon with her as she did. "Come on, let’s get ready for bed."
What had been a dreaded time now became one of jubilation as they both realized that they could spend the rest of the night sleeping while still reveling in the closeness of the newfound love. Eagerly they both dashed to their suitcases and sought out the apparel for the night. With their backs to each other they hurriedly dressed and then shyly turned to the staircase leading up to the loft.
There was no worry about who would sleep on what side for both women knew that the sides would be left empty and the two would cuddle one up against the other in the middle of the double bed. Crawling under the covers, their bodies soon entwined with long strong arms encircling the petite form of the blonde.
The surgeon lay there content in her being as she reflected on the past year of her Fellowship that had taught her many things. The two most important of them all did not concern her surgical skills but rather what had been haunting her life. The ability to open her heart to love and the knowledge that she was no longer alone came to her like a message from beyond the grave in the form of one petite nurse who was now held in her arms as well as in her heart.
"Danni?" The soft whisper came out.
"Yeah, Gar."
"I was just thinking. I’m glad that I’m going to be learning what love is all about from the best teacher that I could possibly have. I just hope that there aren’t too many curves for me to get around along the way."
"I’ll try to keep them to a minimum. Now, let’s get some sleep, we’ve got the rest of our lives to learn how to love." Danni snuggled into the shoulder of the surgeon, happy that her heart and soul were now feeling whole. She had put her faith for love into the hands of the gods and they had delivered her the tall, dark, surgeon, Garrett Trivoli. And there through the pathways of life they would walk, sometimes leading sometimes following, but always they would be together.
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