Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction about it. I make no profit from this; it is merely for my own personal enjoyment.

Summary : What happens after the mysterious person gunned the car and aimed for Lenara and the fallout from that night. This picks up from that moment on.

--

"Lenara! No!" Jadzia's cry seemed to free Lenara from the frozen stupor she was momentarily stuck in and she screamed as she threw her hands up in defense. She turned to see Jadzia barreling towards her just as the speeding car came upon her. She felt the full-on body check Jadzia gave her and felt herself falling painfully onto the asphalt a few feet away. She watched in utter horror as the car struck Jadzia, who was not able to get out of the way in time. Now it was Lenara's turn to watch events unfold in aching clarity.

The sights and sounds of this night were going to haunt Lenara for the rest of her life. She knew that somewhere in the back of her mind, as she could do nothing but sit and watch events now. Time seemed to stop for one heart wrenching second and her eyes met Jadzia's. She could see the apology written in Jadzia's deep brown eyes as the car hit her but Lenara didn't have time to understand what it meant as time returned to normal.

Lenara watched as the car struck Jadzia on her side and sent her flying heavily into the hood. Her head impacted with the windshield with a sickening crack, shattering the glass. She slid off the hood and fell to the roadway before rolling limply to a stop a few feet away. Lenara barely noticed that the car had skidded into a lamppost further down the road as she scrambled to Jadzia's side.

Blood was pouring freely from numerous visible wounds and Lenara shuddered to think about the internal damage that common sense told her Jadzia had suffered. Reaching out a shaking hand, she checked Jadzia's neck for a pulse and found one faintly pulsing beneath her fingers. Releasing the breath she'd unconsciously been holding, she tore off a piece of her dress and used it to put pressure on a nasty gash across Jadzia's forehead. She repeated the process a few times on Jadzia's arms and legs to stem the bleeding, all the while talking gently to the unconscious girl.

"That was pretty stupid, Jadzi, jumping in front of that car like that. Not that I don't appreciate it, because I do, believe me, I do. But, oh God, Jadzi, risking your life for mine? That was kind of stupid."

"Lenara? Oh, God Jadzia! Lenara, what happened?" Dax asked after coming out a few minutes later when he heard the commotion outside. Lenara never looked up from her administrations.

"Car came at me, Jadzia pushed me out of the way. Have you called 911?" she asked calmly as she brushed some hair away from Jadzia's still face. Dax was surprised at how calm Lenara was as she continued to take care of Jadzia. The sight of Jadzia lying there so still and obviously gravely injured nearly made him physically sick.

"Yeah, I called as soon as I saw someone was hit. They'll be here any minute, Lenara. How is she?" Lenara shook her head and sighed.

"Bad, Dax. But she's holding on. Can I have your jacket?" He silently took off his jacket and she draped it over Jadzia who was starting to stir.

"Uugg…Le…Lenara?" she gasped as her eyes opened fractionally and tried to focus as she struggled to move.

"Right here, Jadzi, easy, don't move," Lenara answered with a wide but sad smile. Jadzia's eyes fluttered before settling on Lenara for a moment and then closing again. She seemed to relax when she saw Lenara was there.

"You…OK?" Jadzia asked between shuttering gasps. Lenara looked at her worriedly. There was a trickle of blood coming from Jadzia's mouth that was steadily getting worse. Evidence of those internal injuries Lenara had been worried about.

"I'm fine, Jadzia, thanks to you. You saved my life. How do you feel? Ambulance in on the way so don't worry," she rambled, trying to reassure her stepsister. Jadzia frowned in pain.

"Hurts…cold…" Jadzia shuddered. Lenara tucked the jacket in tighter around Jadzia's shoulders and brushed her cheek. There was barely a spot on Jadzia's face that wasn't

either covered in blood or dirt but Lenara didn't care. She just wanted Jadzia to keep breathing. (Please, God let her hold on)

"It's OK, Jadzia. We'll get you to a hospital and you'll be fine," Lenara wished she felt half as sure as she sounded. But she wasn't. Jadzia was starting to shake and Lenara didn't know if it was from shock or blood loss or both. She could hear the sirens in the distance.

"Hear that, Jadzia? They're almost here so hang on a bit longer. Hey, Dax?" Dax walked closer again.

"Yeah, Lenara?" he asked quietly. His stomach was turning as he watched one of his childhood and best friends lie on the pavement possibly dying. He was powerless to do anything and it was twisting him inside.

"The car is over there. Find the driver. I want to know who did this," Lenara said in a voice so full of anger and rage that it frightened Dax. He had never, EVER heard her speak in such a voice. It sounded alien coming from her.

"Lenara, I…"

"Do it, Dax!" Lenara commanded with such venom that Dax jumped and walked briskly over to the oddly familiar car. As he got closer to the vehicle, he realized why he recognized it.

"Jesus, it's Paris' car," he swore to himself. Not wanting to believe his eyes, Dax looked into the car and saw Paris' unconscious form slumped over the deflated airbag. He reached in and checked for a pulse and found it going strong.

"I don't know if that's a good thing for you given the way Lenara just acted, Paris," Dax told her rather angrily. He sniffed the air and his anger rose. "Christ, are you drunk?" Unable to keep speaking to a sleeping figure, he slapped her, not too lightly. Paris' head snapped up and her eyes fluttered open.

"Huh? Wha…?" Paris slurred drunkenly as she reached up to wipe at the blood from a small cut on her forehead. She looked at the blood on her fingers in confusion and then at Dax. "What're you doin' here, loser?" she spat.

"Damn you, Paris. Damn you to Hell! Do you have ANY idea what you have done?" he screamed at her. Paris blinked owlishly at him for a second. Then images of Lenara down with her car ran through her alcohol-fogged mind and she couldn't suppress a giggle.

"Playing Frogger' with Lenara? It's just a dream, Dax. Why are you here anyway? Go away," Dax opened the car door and roughly pulled Paris out, not caring if she was actually hurt. "What are you doing, you psycho? Let go of me!" Paris protested as Dax dragged her over to the scene of her carnage.

"It wasn't a dream, Paris. Look. Look at what you've done!" he screamed at her when they reached where Lenara still sat cradling Jadzia who was semi-conscious. Paris looked at the bloodied form of her most hated enemy and her best-friend (former) sitting next to her.

"Aw, I missed Lenara and hit Jadzi instead. Not bad for a consolation prize," Paris snickered. "Heh heh, Jadzi went splat!" Lenara looked up in shock and then stared speechless.

"It was Paris, Lenara," Dax said needlessly. "She's drunk and thinks this is a dream." Lenara nodded and carefully laid Jadzia back on the ground before she stood up to face her would-be-killer. She looked the still giggling girl up and down in distaste as if seeing her for the first time. Before Dax or Paris knew what was happening, Lenara pulled back and punched Nicole so hard in the jaw that Paris went flying to the ground in pain.

"OW! Jesus!" Paris exclaimed in pain as she held her throbbing jaw. All thought that this was an alcohol-induced hallucination vanished with Lenara's action and the realization that this was real chilled Paris to her core. She looked up at the person who was once the best friend she ever had and saw only hate and rage staring back at her.

"Not so funny now, is it, Paris?" Lenara growled. Paris shook her head mutely. She'd never seen Lenara so angry or known her to hit anyone, aside from the story of the once she slapped Jadzia. Sobriety sped up behind Paris and slammed into her as she realized exactly what she had done. She scrambled to her feet and looked back at Jadzia as Lenara sat back down and the ambulance pulled up.

"Oh, my God, what have I done?" Paris whispered in utter horror. The paramedics began to treat Jadzia and Lenara turned her attention back to Paris.

--

If you liked this chapter please leave me a comment. Thanx for readn!!

Rock On!! Shout out to Joan Jett!!