Malcolm knew that walking the rest of the way down, lugging Trip behind was a job he had to do if they were both to survive. He knew there would be a small village at the bottom of the great valley.
It was an arduous journey and Malcolm hated every blasted minute of it. Dragging the much heavier engineer was tough for the smaller man. The Commander was certainly heavier than he was but that was due to Trip's strong muscles. Even Malcolm knew that muscle weighed hell of a lot more compared with fat and Tucker certainly wasn't that.
Moaning occurred soon followed by slurred chatter with a distinct southern accent attached to it. Malcolm hesitated then stopped, gently resting his friend's head on the ground. The man's face winced in pain and Malcolm removed any sharp fragments that may have been pressing into the blonde's head. He laid the head back down and tried to wake the southerner.
'Malcum?' Trips' words were mangled and Malcolm knew if they were proper English it would be all-wrong, but it wasn't important and he knew or got the gist of what his friend was mumbling.
'I'm here. How are you feeling?' He asked gingerly. He knew he wouldn't be fine whatsoever.
'Like a drunkard…my head's swimmin' Trip raised a hand to his head in a way of trying to clear his head. 'We got any water?' he asked with an accent so thick Malcolm, at first had real trouble trying to decipher it all.
'Let me check the bag…I think we might.' Malcolm checked the bag and found the bottle that they had nicked from the guard's mess three weeks before when they had escaped. He gave the bottle to Trip but Trip hadn't the feeling in his fingers and the bottle slipped and fell to the ground. 'You want some help?' Malcolm offered politely and Trip nodded.
Malcolm picked the bottle from where it fell and unscrewed the red and black cap. Holding the bottle and cap in the same hand, he gently helped to lift Trip's head so that the water would go down the man's throat. After a few sips, Trip raised a hand to let his friend know that he had had enough. Malcolm obliged and gently put down the southerners blonde head.
'Thanks. I needed that' Malcolm only nodded as he screwed the cap back onto the bottle and replaced it into the bag.
'We'll have a little rest but we need to keep on moving. I don't how much longer we can hold out with the supplies we have' Malcolm reported a little sullenly. He didn't like the situation at all.
'Come on Mal, be a little more optimistic. Sure we ain't got what we need most but we sure gonna get to that damned village come rain or shine. You'll see, jus' have faith in yerself Malcolm' Trip spat back, reassuringly whilst scratching his jaw.
'I suppose you're right. We'd better get moving, they may have decided to follow us' Malcolm said designedly looking back in the direction they had come. Trip followed the younger man's gaze and nodded. The brunette turned his head back to the southerner. 'How are your legs? You feel like walking?'
'I'm sure I can get something outta my legs. Help me up?' Trip asked looking at the man at his side. The man nodded and Trip took his hands.
Malcolm hoisted Trip and Trip nearly fell down again but Malcolm caught him just in time. They paused so that Trip could regain his own balance and Malcolm could pick up the bag and hoist on his shoulder.
They started to walk down the hill with Trip stumbling every few steps and Malcolm helping him down. Eventually, Trip threw an arm round Malcolm's shoulder, as he couldn't find much strength in his own legs. Malcolm took some of the extra weight with some ease, casting an arm round Trip's back.
They went on like this for some time. Trip's mouth was open in the attempt to get more air and Malcolm's brow was wet with sweat with the strain of taking most of Trip's weight but he said nothing. All he cared about was his friend's health and not his.
'Malcolm, can we rest a moment?' Trip asked heavily, his breath ragged.
'Sure' Malcolm carefully helped Trip to sit down on the clumps of the blue grass. He looked around him and took in the scenery.
The baby blue sky was covered with lilac clouds, moving swiftly through the planet's hemisphere. His eyes swerved towards red leaved trees and their black bark joining to blue, spiky grass. The rock were navy blue and the ground was a colour he didn't recognise but would say was close to maroon. His eyes returned to look at Tucker's face and their eyes locked.
'You feelin' okay Mal?' Trip asked with concern. He knew that Malcolm had taken most of his weight and he felt a little guilty about letting the munitions officer do so. Malcolm took awhile to answer but blinked after a moment and nodded.
"Yeah…I feel fine"
"Bullshit. You ain't 'fine' Malcolm. You've carried most of mah weight. You ain't fine" Trip countered and Malcolm sighed heavily, hanging his head slightly. 'Aww, Malcolm. I ain't puttin' ya down or anythin' but I know ya took most of my weight…an'…an' ah feel guilty about lettin' ya do that'
'But you aren't able to walk entirely by yourself yet'
'Give me a chance to eh? I'll try.' To try and prove his point he readied himself to stand, feeling the weight and balance arguing with each other in his stead.
The Englishman watched the southerner intently and nodded, closing his eyelids slightly. He sighed gently and lay back on the grass, bringing his hands behind his head. Trip soon followed suit, but changed the style by crossing his feet together. They had been forced to wear no shoes as theirs had been taken.
'I wonder what the guys upstairs are doing right now?' Trip wondered aimlessly, staring into the sky but had to quickly turn away when the planets' sun glared into his eyes, making yellow spots appear in his vision but they disappeared after a few moments.
'I don't think it's worth thinking about…I just want to get back home, to where we belong' Malcolm sighed and closed his eyes breathing slowly. His legs had begun to ache from the strain of carrying the far heavier man lying next to him on the grass and he twitched them a bit to get some feeling and blood into them.
He hoped that they would find their friends again He couldn't wait to sit in the mess hall and talk with Hoshi and Travis or being criticised by Phlox for being a bad patient and even though Commander Tucker was right next to him, he missed the friendly arguments between their departments. He missed life on Enterprise and the crew who served her willingly to the ends of their lives if it came to that.
It did when the Xindi had attacked them and they were sent to find them and the culprit who sent the weapon a year before. Malcolm mused on his thoughts but it wasn't long before Trip interrupted them.
'Mal?'
'Hmm?'
'Do you think we'll get back?'
Malcolm opened his eyes and looked intently at his friend, raising his eyebrows slightly. He paused a while before answering
'I don't know Trip, as you might say, we have to believe we will be back home'
'Good. Shall we make a move? I've had enough rest to last me a while' Trip asked quietly, looking and meeting Malcolm's eyes. Malcolm nodded and rose from the ground but lost his foot and fell to the floor again on his rear. His face winced as it hit a stone jutting out of the ground.
Tucker rose slowly and got his balance. He felt better than he had before and turned when he heard a dull thud and a small vibration shudder through to his feet.
'Malcolm?' He asked his friend who was on the ground, frowning.
'My leg's dead' the Brit replied in a highly frustrated manner. Tucker smiled slightly, time for him to give something back.
A/N: What do you think?