I had trouble deciding whose point of view I wanted to write this as… I hope you enjoy.

Warning: Graphic in parts, also language.

LEDGE

Jim shot a piercing glance at Spock as he slowly slid one foot back through the gravel beneath his boot. He was shifting into a defensive position and Spock had just spotted it. The science officer reciprocated the defensive move and trailed his hand down towards his hip while all eyes remained on the captain.

Jim's eyes flicked to the right and back to the Orion in front of him. He then laid his eyes on Spock and gave him the slightest of nods before looking away again.

Spock knew Kirk was an expert at reading body language and sensing danger, more so than anyone he'd ever met, including himself. But time and practice had allowed Spock to become an expert at reading Jim's body language and behavior, through observations made on hundreds of bridge shifts and away missions with him.

He knew what his captain needed from him.

"Energize." Spock voiced, activating his communicator discreetly by his side.

But his actions were a moment too late for Jim.

As Bones, Spock, Uhura, Jim, and Giotto began to whirl away into nothing, they watched the Orion roughly shove at Kirk's shoulder, tossing him off balance and away from the rest of them.

"Hey! Back away from him!" Giotto unholstered his phaser and lunged forward, making a grab for Kirk.

Jim instantly reached his hand out to try and clutch onto the alien's cuff sleeve, but he couldn't grasp it firmly. He quickly twisted around towards the cliff's edge he suddenly found himself upon and tried to save his fall by crouching and grabbing at a stray root by his feet. But before he could reach anything, a boot slammed into his hip and the captain went scraping over the edge of the steep ridge. He let out a surprised grunt from the assault as his hands scrambled against the rocky cliffside before he disappeared from sight.

A mixture of alarmed 'Jims,' 'captains,' and 'Kirks' meshed together in the air as the remainder of the away team began to materialize aboard the Enterprise a second later.

"Oi! I lost the lock on one of yas!" Scotty shouted from his station, slamming his hands down on the data screen.

"Captain!" Uhura breathed out, looking around the chamber as she fully materialized. "Scott, did you get Kirk?"

"Jim!" Bones swiveled his head around the transporter pad looking desperately for his friend.

"Mr. Scott, the captain was just separated from our away team." Spock's voice was thunderous as he stormed off the pad. "He descended down the ravine directly adjacent and below our last beam out position. You must locate him immediately."

"Aye, sah! I jus couldnae lock'on to'im in time!"

"He was right there a second ago!" McCoy shouted in denial, opening his hands in the direction he had just seen his best friend before he watched him get shoved over the edge of a cliff.

"Laddie fell out of range at the wee last minute, ime tryin to find 'im now, standby."

"How deep was the cliffside? Was it a straight drop?" Giotto asked the group.

"Did he actually fall or do you think he grabbed onto something?" Uhura chimed in as she jogged off the transporter pad towards Scotty's station in order to get a look at his screen.

The whole room was now in a frenzy trying to locate their captain.

"He definitely fell. If he hadn't, he would've been close enough for the beam out." Giotto wheeled his head towards Bones who was now leaning rigidly against the wall. "Doctor, how far of a fall could he survive?"

Leonard had his arms crossed tightly against his chest and was glaring at Scotty as the man worked. "I don't know." He answered without looking at him. "Maybe ten meters… Fifteen tops."

Spock rounded behind Nyota and Scotty as he peered at the viewscreen between them. "Mr. Scott, the captain was pushed off this ledge. You must scan at lower altitudes, and work swiftly."

"E was pushed? Wha kind of basta-"

A harsh breath crackled through the chaos in the room causing everyone to silence and tip their heads up.

"Enterprise."

The room roared with a chorus of cheers and thankful sighs at the familiar voice.

"Beam me up… now." Came the gruff tone of their obviously not dead captain.

"Captain! Aye sah! Right away, sah!" Scotty drummed his hands along the paneling in front of him, exhaling in relief as he searched for Kirk's comm signal to lock onto.

Bones sighed in reprieve, folding in half and clamping his shaking hands to his thighs. His friend had cheated death once again… God damn him and his nine lives. "Christ kid, I'm getting too old for this."

"Captain, we're trying to locate you now, standby for beam out." Uhura called from behind Scotty's shoulder, a relieved smile on her face.

"Copy." Jim's breathless voice reverberated through the spherical chamber.

But then a grunt and a partially suppressed groan escaped his lips, and the whole room instantly picked up on his slip.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Bones, you there…?"

No one said a word as all the alarmed eyes in the chamber shot to McCoy's. This can't be good.

Leonard pushed away from the wall, standing erect, his previous relieved demeanor sobering. "I'm right here Jim, what's going on?" He turned his head towards Spock. "…Are you hurt?"

Seconds went by as he waited for an answer, but only shaky breaths and the skittering of rocks sounded through the room. No, definitely not good.

"Jim, you there? Are you okay?" Bones was officially on high alert. He turned his head down so his ear was angled up to better hear through the speakers lining the ceiling.

A strained groan was heard followed eventually by a chuckled, "N-not really."

McCoy paled. "Not really? What in the hell does that me–"

"Captain, what is your current location? We are having difficulties tracing your coordinates." Spock interrupted, getting straight to business.

"Mmm, fell. I'm han–" There was the sound of rocks shifting and a loud crunch followed by Jim crying out in pain.

"Captain!" Uhura shouted anxiously.

"Jim! What's happening? What's wrong?!" McCoy boomed worriedly as he took a step towards the transporter stairs.

There was no answer.

"Jim!" He shouted again as the room waited for a response. The crew exchanged nervous glances as they listened for any sound coming through the speakers.

"Jim?" Bones waited several more seconds before shooting his eyes over to Scotty for answers.

"Did we lose the connection?" The CMO was hoping technology was the reason for Jim's sudden silence and not the alternative, like he was literally incapable.

Uhura paled as she shook her head though. "The connection's still active, I don't know why he's not answering." Her brown eyes came up to meet despairing hazel ones.

"Mr. Scott, what is the delay?" Spock snapped, recognizing the urgency of Kirk's situation.

"Argh, I cannae find 'im!" The chief engineer's hands moved a mile a minute across the screen.

But in the next moment there was a grumble and then rapid breaths coming in over the intercom, and the room silenced again.

"Captain, come in." Uhura questioned instantly. "Kirk, can you hear us?"

Another grunt as the room waited in anticipation.

"M'here." The words finally whispered out.

"Jim! Oh thank God." McCoy dropped his head down and wiped at his forehead, but spoke quicker this time, not wanting to lose him again. "Listen kid, I don't know how banged up you are, but right now you need to stay awake and help us find you."

The CMO exhaled shakily. He needed eyes on his comrade like right. The hell. Now. The various visuals of his battered friend, sprawled on the ground or in some ravine, bleeding and in pain, were overtaking his mind.

"Jim, did you hear me?" Bones tried to stay calm, but Jim's spotty responses spoke volumes on how poor his condition must be.

"Ya... need a beam out." Jim finally groaned, slightly more coherent than his first response.

Spock looked up at the navigation screen. "Captain, can you tell us your location in relation to our last known position before your unplanned descent?"

Kirk exhaled shakily. "Don't know." He was breathing rapidly and he sounded like he was moving and shifting before he answered again. "…'Bout ninety meters, straight down."

Silence filled the room.

"Ninety meters? Good God Jim, how are you still alive?" Bones retorted in disbelief.

"Were you able to catch yourself?" Uhura inquired hastily.

"No..." He exhaled sharply before letting out a surprised yelp.

"Ah! I'm slipping! I need a beam out now, Enterprise!" Jim sounded desperate. The crew knew he must be in a bad way to have even an ounce of desperation detectable in his tone.

Uhura and Giotto turned towards the Chief Engineer and stared the man down, willing him to say he had finally locked onto Jim's position.

"Jim, it's okay, relax kid. We'll get you." A deep growl sounded through the room followed by an impatient "Scotty…" from McCoy's worried form standing at the base of the stairs.

"I know laddie, I've jus found 'im but I cannae isolate im from whaever 'es against. There's too much intaference along the inside of tha' ridge."

McCoy turned away, clamping his eyes shut and then spoke towards the empty transporter pad once more. "Jim, tell us what's going on. Give me a status report." He was squeezing the bridge of his nose in subdued patience.

There was a long pause.

"M'stuck, Bones." Jim whispered out.

The words were enough to shake the doctor to the core. He no longer could stand there doing nothing. He marched up the steps to the transporter pad headed straight for the med kit stored on the far wall.

"I'm beaming down to you."

"No, do not beam down." Kirk gruffed back quickly. "Just beam me up." He pleaded.

"Kirk, what about a land extract? Can you hold on long enough for a shuttle?" Uhura suggested.

He let out a surprised gasp and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to regrip his hold.

"Mmm, don't think so." He responded tensely. He'd be lucky if he lasted another minute like this, if he was being honest with himself.

"What if we beam down to here, do you think we could reach him if we went along this way?" Giotto drew along the screen, trying to offer his help to get their captain back on board in one piece.

But Kirk cut them all off. "No, no one can beam back down here–"

"Jim, this is not the time for your self-sacrificing heroics." Bones interrupted while manhandling the med kit off the wall with a yank and a grunt.

"No that's not it, there's just nowhere to beam down to, you can't." Jim groaned again.

"Bull shit! There are dozens of outcroppings. Just sit tight, we're coming to get you." He organized the med kit under his arm and began donning a pair of gloves. "Scotty, beam me down to…"

"Bones, stop! I already looked! I'm hanging by my fucking leg, and I'm going to fall!" He cried out when his outburst jostled his hip and knee, dropping him down another few inches.

There was shocked silence in the room as everyone tried to process what their captain had just revealed.

Uhura finally broke the silence and tried to clarify. "Captain, confirm last transmission. Did you say you're hanging by one of your legs, and that you're about to fall?" She hoped she'd just heard that wrong.

McCoy paled. Hanging by a LEG? Oh God… he probably got caught by something on his way down which would explain why he didn't fall to his death. But the amount of force it must've put on Jim's body when, whatever it was, stopped him–

"S-straight down from the beam out. Check eighty to ninety meters s-straight down. You have to get me now, 'm here!" Jim was starting to panic.

McCoy's eyes flicked over to Spock's while the rest of the room looked towards the CMO for guidance. Most of the occupants in the chamber had never heard a panicking James Kirk before and they were banking on Leonard, who was Kirk's best friend, to be able to handle this uncharted side of him for them.

"Okay, it's okay Jim, listen, we already found you. Scotty's finalizing the lock on your location right now, you're not gonna fall."

He snapped his head to look at Scotty in silent warning. Don't you dare make me a liar.

"Just try and take a few breaths for me."

Jim answered with harsh and painful pants, letting out a moan before he could stifle it.

"Tell me about your leg." McCoy tried to distract him as he turned his head forward to listen.

Jim groaned again, continuing to pant tiredly.

"It's bad – really bad." The whole room cringed in empathy for him. "God, I hope you can f-fix this." He added dismally.

"I can bring you back from the dead, Jim. I'll be able to fix it, don't worry." He answered easily, but his medical mind was reeling. Okay, definitely gruesome then. He must have visible fractures, at least… oh shit, he better not have compound fractures, because that could mean…

"Are you bleeding anywhere?"

Jim groaned. He didn't want to do this right now. "…Think my face is."

Leonard cursed as he started triaging Jim's condition. Head injury.

"Okay, what about your leg?"

There was a slightly hysteric gasp before Jim strained to answer. "Cn we talk bout somethin' else...?" He all but pleaded. Kirk just wanted to forget about his leg and the position it was currently in, not describe it. But McCoy had to know.

"Jim, come on, this is important, just yes or no, is your leg bleeding?"

A moan and then finally through clenched teeth, "Yes."

Shit. Shit. Shit!

"Okay, how do you feel?"

A pause.

"…I feel like m'leg's gonna fall off, Bones! What the hell do y'mean 'how do I feel'?!"

Okay, he's also agitated, and in significant pain. Damn it all, I need eyes on him, now!

"I mean are you hot? Cold? Heart racing?" He tired to clarify quickly.

Another pause.

"…Dizzy n' – can't catch my breath."

Summarize. Probable low blood volume from hemorrhaging, tachypnea, visible leg trauma, high pain levels, agitation… shit, he's definitely going into shock, if he's not already.

Leonard pulled out a tricorder from the medkit and looked for vasopressors he could use in case his suspicions of shock were right… He just really hoped he was wrong.

He didn't push the topic anymore though and switched gears, trying anything to keep him oriented and talking. "Okay, are you pinned or are you holding yourself up right now?"

Kirk continued panting before responding. "Both."

"I've got his position! Locking on now, ten seconds sah!" Scotty declared.

"Captain we've got you. But you have to get yourself as flat as you can." Matthews, a transporter technician, stated next to Scotty. "Beaming out at an odd angle may be painful. Materializing in a pinned position could also loosen the hold any rocks have on your leg which means you could fall again."

"I know, I'll hang on." He croaked back.

There was a sharp noise that blew through the speakers followed by skittering rocks and curses from their captain.

"Jim, what was that?"

"Shit! They found me… they're shooting at me!"

You've got to be kidding me!

More sharp noises and exploding rocks. Jim's harsh cries were deafening to his crew who were helplessly listening on.

"Beam me up! Do it now!"

"Beaming up now, clear the pad!" Scotty yelled back prompting Leonard to scramble from the center of the chamber and down the steps.

"Captain, hold onto something!"

The room's eyes shot to the transport pad and waited for the swirling of white lights to manifest in the middle of the room. Bones spun around and was standing rigidly, ready to sprint to his battered friend as soon as he fully resurfaced in front of him.

The Enterprise had no idea what they were about to see, but they didn't have to wait long because the whirl of the transport was already swirling to life in front of them.

TBC