Shot

On the Enterprise

She swivels her chair from her console to the viewscreen just in time to see the impact of the small projectile with his body, to see him crumble, tumbling down the hillside, colliding with rocks and trees. She was on her feet in an instant. "NO!"

She was barely aware that Jim was beside her, embracing her, comforting her. "They got him. I saw the transporter shimmer. Bones is on his way to the transporter deck. It will be all right, Uhura."

Tears streaming down her face, she pushed him away, running for the turbolift doors. Behind her, Jim was calling for her replacement, but she never even noticed.

She burst out of the turbolift, down the short hall to the transporter deck. There were a number of people running into that room. She ran to the edge of pad, where he shimmered, not entirely here yet. As the shimmers stopped and he collapsed, she was there to catch him. His shirt was soaked in green blood. His eyes rolled up in his head as he struggled to keep his weight off her.

"Nyota." His voice was strained, tight. He clutched at her. There would be bruises, but it didn't matter. He was still alive.

"I am here, k'diwa, I have you."

Beside her now, McCoy had his scanner active. Two of the medical personnel were trying to lift Spock up to the gurney, but he was resisting.

"Spock, let them put you on the gurney. I am here, k'diwa, I will not leave. Let them help." Hearing her voice, he relaxed, let them lift him to the gurney. Someone slammed a pressure pad onto his chest. Then they rolled him on his side, slapped another on his back.

McCoy was shouting orders at the personnel in the room, other orders over his tricorder to the people in sick he turned to her. "Try to keep him quiet, he's still losing blood way too fast. We're going to get them to beam that gurney direct to sick bay - you need to climb up and hold on."

She quickly scrambled up beside him, not letting go of his hand, clinging to the framework with the other hand. She felt the familiar tingling and suddenly they were in one of the open surgery rooms in sick bay. She jumped back down off the gurney, still not letting go of his hand. She turned, brushing the side of his face with her other hand, brushing his hair back into place neatly, the way he liked it. She could feel him trying to shut down the link. "Don't you dare do that! Do you want me to think you're dying!"

She could feel his contrition. He was trying to spare her from suffering with the pain he was feeling. He was wavering, not fully conscious. But he was desperately clinging to her hand. The medical personnel were swarming over him now. McCoy came into sick bay at a dead run and immediately began issuing orders. Someone was cutting Spock's uniform off, someone else pulling off his boots. She moved towards the head of the gurney, trying to stay out of the way. There were cuts, bruises, scrapes, but it was the hole the projectile had bored through his body that was the most critical injury.

McCoy was there beside her, speaking. "Cuts, bruises, scrapes, some cracked ribs, a few torn tendons, and that hole. Why he doesn't have any broken bones I don't understand, but I'm not complaining. We need to sedate him now to plug up that hole. Can you make him understand?"

She bent over him, her mouth next to his ear. "Can you hear me, k'diwa?" Through their bond, she felt a weak affirmative. "They are going to sedate you. You need surgery. I will not leave you. I am here." She squeezed his hand. The return pressure was so much slighter than normal, but it was there.

They carefully slid Spock off the gurney and onto the surgical bed. She maneuvered back to his side, never dropping his hand.

Someone came up behind her and pushed a stool against the backs of her legs. Gratefully, she sank down on it, pulling it a bit closer to the bed.

McCoy had his hypospray in his hand, adjusting the contents. He held it over several different points, releasing medication. He twisted the control ring, changing what he was injecting, moved over Spock's body again.

Someone had drawn a sheet over the middle of Spock's body, covering him from waist to mid-thigh. While McCoy and two assistants worked on the chest wound, others were cleaning the cuts and scrapes. Then they scanned his ribs again and applied tape to support the cracked ribs until they had a chance to use the bone growth equipment. There seemed to be almost a dozen people in the room, all working efficiently.

She sat quietly, holding his hand. The pain was still there, but he was not processing it now. He drifted, the sedatives and pain killers McCoy had injected relieving the tension in his muscles, keeping him unfocused. She gently pushed calm at him, then love. She sensed his response, he stilled, relaxed some more.

After what seemed like a tremendous amount of time, McCoy stepped back. "Well, I think we got everything fixed." He exhaled heavily. "Thank God his heart's not where a human's would be. He should be out of it for a couple of hours yet, if you want to go eat and rest a bit."

"No, he needs me here. I will stay."

"Damn it, girl, he's unconscious. He doesn't even know you're here."

"Yes, he does, Len. He knows I'm here. And it's helping, so shut up." She lifted her eyes from Spock's still form and looked at Bones. "But I wouldn't object to some tea and maybe a sandwich." She smiled at their friend. "Thank you for doing such a great job of patching him up."

McCoy blushed and grumbled, but with a smile on his face. "I'll send someone down to the mess hall right away."

***

She sensed someone come up behind her and lifted her head. It was their Captain.

"How's he doing?"

"Still unconscious from the sedatives, but it's starting to thin out. I'm not sure, but I think he's trying to go into a healing trance, but the sedatives have prevented it. I don't know whether he'll come completely awake before going into trance. I'll just have to wait and see."

"Bones said he came through the surgery fine. No broken bones, just cuts, scrapes, cracked ribs. And that hole."

"Yes. That hole is definitely the worst of it. Fortunately, most of the rest is just superficial. And I think they already healed those ribs."

"You look tired. Why don't you go take a rest? I'll sit with him for a while."

"It's not the same. He can tell I'm here. He's still putting pressure on my hand."

"Even through the sedation? That's almost spooky." Kirk looked around the room, searching for something, then poked his head around the corner and spoke to someone.

In a moment, two orderlies came in and started moving things around. The next thing she knew, there were two surgical beds side by side. With a thankful grin, she climbed up and stretched out, relieving muscles that had started to cramp up from sitting on the stool for so long. Their hands, still clasped together, lay at his side. Before very long, she drifted off to sleep.

****

He was calling her. She struggled up through layers of sleep, sat up. He was laying there quietly, his face still. But she could hear him in the link. There was something he needed. He was ready to wake up. She leaned over him and smacked him hard in the face with the hand he was not holding. Again. She smacked him harder. He gasped. She smacked him again. He jerked. But his eyes were still closed. She smacked him again.

People came running into the room. Someone grabbed at her. "Stop that! What are you doing?"

"Leave me alone! He needs this to wake up!"

That new doctor came running in and pulled the others away from her, assuring them that she was doing the right thing. She smacked Spock again. This time his eyes flew open. Again. She hesitated, his eyes were open, was he sure he wanted her to hit him again? Again. She smacked him again, as hard as she could. She drew back her hand, ready to hit him again, but he reached up and clasped her wrist.

"I am awake."

From over her shoulder she heard Bones "Well thank all the Gods."

Yes, indeed.