Chapter Two

Spock dropped to his knees. He ran a hand over Jim's forehead, and finding no blood there, moved to his pulse to check for a pulse. It was not only there but was also very strong, almost too strong, too fast. Fast enough for his Captain to go into shock.

Quickly, Spock accessed the situation. He had many cuts and scrapes, but they were superficial. His eyes travelled further down his body to locate the source of all the blood.

Or what was left of it. Covered in deep crimson, he couldn't tell for certain if they were still attached.

Struck into sudden action by how dire the situation was, Spock stripped off his shirt and tried to stop the blood. Quickly it soaked through, and Spock realized that he'd have to do something better than that. He looked around, searching, but found nothing. Finally, he whipped out his communicator, fumbling to get it open.

"Spock to Enterprise." he said. "Spock to Enterprise, come in." He was just about to repeat himself when he got an answer.

"Scott here. Go ahead."

"Transfer me over to Dr. McCoy."

"Acknowledged."

"Immediately." Spock said, voice strained. He looked to his Captain. "J..."

"Spock? This is McCoy," came the doctor's grumbling voice from over the communicator. "What's going on?"

"I need you and two paramedics down immediately with a stretcher." Spock said quickly. "Medical emergency."

"Spock, what's going on?" McCoy repeated, firmly this time.

"There has been an explosion." Spock answered. "The Captain is severely injured."

"I'll be right down."

"Oh my God" were the first words out of Dr. McCoy's mouth. Then: "Spock, outta the way. Jones, hand me the scissors."

Spock moved away. McCoy knelt down and began cutting through the Captain's pants. Kirk, unconscious until now, began to whimper, soon outright screaming.

"God Damn it!" McCoy shouted. "Give him a shot!"

One of the paramedics rushed over, punching the syringe into his arm. Immediately, the Captain calmed down.

"Bones," he murmured, eyes wide open. "Spock. Spock, where are you?"

"Right here, Captain." he replied.

"Take my hand," he muttered, raising an arm weakly. Stepping over, Spock knelt down, ignored his physical Vulcan standards, and took it.

"What happened?" Kirk asked. "What's going on?"

"There was an explosion," Spock said. "You were...injured."

"You're bleeding..." Jim said. "You need medical attention." His gaze turned to McCoy. "How bad is it, Bones?"

"It's..." a long pause. "Not that bad."

"Bones. Spock. He needs..." before he could finish the thought, his eyes were closed again. Within a few seconds, he was screaming again.

"Get him on the stretcher!" the doctor barked. "Now! No time to waste!"

McCoy stood up and went over to Spock. "Spock," he said, "This is bad. Really bad."

"I'm aware of that, doctor."

"No, I don't think you are." McCoy growled. "I'm going to have to put some heavy hardware in both of those legs. I might have to amputate both of them!"

Slowly, Spock withdrew his hand from Jim's. "Is there no other solution?" he asked.

He shook his head.

They all beamed back up, rushing into Sick Bay.

"Jones, Whitiker, put him over there. Spock, right here." McCoy said, slapping a medical bed. "I'm getting my surgical supplies. We start immediately. Chapel, treat Mr. Spock."

"Doctor," Spock began, "I do not need-"

"To hell you don't!" yelled McCoy. "Sit down and shut up!"

Knowing that it would be futile to argue with the doctor, he sat down. "Leonard. What are you going to..."

"Jones, where the hell did you go?! Who has my gloves?! Someone get this curtain up!"

Christine Chapel ran her hand over his arm. "Oh my," she said. "You got banged up, didn't you?"

"Affirmative," Spock answered, though distracted. McCoy had pulled a curtain from the ceiling so that he could do the operation on Kirk, but he could still hear him on the other side, talking to the two other paramedics in muffled voices.

"...nd me the scalpel."

"...lpel."

"Let's see about that gash on your head, shall we?" Chapel said. She pulled out a wipe and scrubbed his forehead with alcohol. Spock dug his fingers into the side of the mattress, trying to distract himself. He should be over there. But instead he was over here, getting treated for minor wounds, while he did not even know what McCoy was doing to Jim.

Startled by the sudden illogical turn in his train of thought, Spock pushed it away, choosing instead to prioritize all that he needed to do from here. Get back up to the Bridge. Contact Alyssan. Report what had happened. He did not know whether the bomb was meant for them, or who had planted it, but he was going to find out.