Disclaimers in Chapter 1 - I don't own them...but I would feed Wesley Crusher till he filled out that freakin suit. : )

Category: Hurt /Comfort Rating K+

Chapter 4

1425 hours

By the time they reached the cave Wesley's face was sheet white. Captain Picard could hear Wesley moan a little with each movement although he didn't believe Wesley was aware he was doing it.

"Just a few more steps and we'll be out of this heat..."

Wesley eased out of his grasp and felt along the walls as Captain Picard begin walking forward. Wesley caught his breath and Dirgo stopped short of going into the cave first. He held back at the entrance as Captain Picard stepped confidently in. Wesley held on to the walls as he followed gingerly.

Darkness, a deeper somewhat cooler darness than they'd imagined, was illuminated by small fissures in the rock. The cave was a myriad of black and grey rock, forged from rocks similar to that of Earth's magma rich asthenosphere, but here they were at the surface carved and formed in the depths of this hollowed out mountain.

"It's cooler in here. There must be water somewhere...something must have carved this cave. "

"It could have been made by tectonic forces or molten lava chambers Mr. Dirgo. "

"Yes, the walls are dry sir, there doesn't seem to be any water in here, " Wesley sighed snaking an extremely dry tongue out to reach parched lips. He laid against the wall where he stood. He'd retrieved the tricorder from his captain as he continued to scan the strange signal he was receiving. He slowly headed deeper into the cavern.

"Captain, the frequency has changed, it is much stronger now and it's much more organized, it seems to be peaking as I move in this direction."

Dirgo began following Wesley moving deeper into the cave. As he steppped lower into the cavern, he stumbled and the clear flask fell from his pocket. Picard tured to collect it before Dirgo could grab it. Wesley looked up in time to see the clear bottle in his Captain's hands and his blood began to boil.

"You've had water all this time...?" he asked seeething with anger...his parched lips tinged with blue as he held fast to the wall for support. Picard opened the bottle and sniffed the contents.

"No it's not water, It's Dresci...it..."

"Something just as valuable. We can use it as a coolant, and antiseptic. Mr. Crusher is running a fever , thank you Mr. Dirgo." Captain Picard said cooly placing the liquid with the other medical supplies. Dirgo growled angrily as he followed the pair. Wesley had made it to another part of the cavern as he shouted back for them.

"Water! There's water here." both men took off in a run as they stood beside him. Wesley continued to scan the area. Before them was an amazingly beautiful sight. Life. A fountain of running water dancing in the air just waiting to cool their bodies and quench their thirst. The room was illuminated by a crack from the mountain wall as a light danced on it.

"Is it potable?"

"Yes, sir I think so...but that frequency has gone haywire, it's so strong now that its affecting the tricorder."he replied weakly.

"Oh who cares...it's water." Dirgo shouted as he lunged towards the water. As soon as he did a shimmering wall popped up blocking access to the water and bouncing Dirgo back on to the sandy ground. Picard watched, stunned at the outcome. Wesley unphased by the incident kept making adjustments to his tricorder.

"That was weird."

"To say the least."

"Captain it appears that the water is guarded by an electromagnetic force. It's based on a certain range of frequency. It adjusts based on the proximity of someone or something engaging the water. "

"Is there anyway to disengage the sentry?"

"I will keep trying to alter the frequencies and trick it into thinking nothing is there, it'll take some time." Dirgo picks himself up from the floor. He shakes his head and appears dazed but otherwise unaffected by the attack.

"For now let's rest a moment, I want to check your injuries." Captain Picard walks up beside Wesley and guides him to a flat rock where he nudges him to sit. Wesley leans back agains the wall cringing as he draws his legs in.

Wesley is hesitant but eventually complies as Picard used a cloth from the medical bag, adds dresci to it and places it on his forehead.

Dirgo sits against the wall toying with the settings on the two phasers that he recovered from his shuttle. This concerns Picard as he places his phaser at his side while diverting his attention to his injured crewman.

"You passed out in the desert. I believe you got too hot, compiled with you previously UNMENTIONED injuries, and the walking you were just overwhelmed. Care to share with me how you are feeling?'

"I'm fine sir..." he said softly.

Picard looked at his young Ensign. Although it had only been a few hours, Wesley's face was already drawn, pale, and thin. He looked terribly dehydrated, and an expression of pain seemed to be permanently etched on his face. He noticed his skin was completely free of sweat. Even with the shade of the mountain it was still extraordinarily hot and Picard could feel the water falling off him in rivulets. Picard felt a pain in his stomach that sickened him, knowing there was nothing he could do about Wesley's plight until they could be rescued or they could get rid of the magnetic field blocking the water. His dehydration would become deadly in a matter of hours with his injuries.

"Ensign Crusher do I need to make it a direct order?"

"No sir, " Wesley sighed heavily before continuing. "my head hurts pretty bad, and my chest right here" He rubbed his hand across the left side of his body. "at the bottom is killing me."

" Wesley, you have three broken ribs, a high fever, a bruised spleen, and a concussion. If we were on the Enterprise, your mother would have you confined to sick bay and me confined to the brig." Wesley smiled at that. His mother was a formiddable woman. She hated when he went on AWAY missions. He seemed to have a knack of getting into trouble.

"Mom ...would also say I'd have to stay awake for awhile."

"I think that'd be a good idea. I will see what our Mr. Dirgo is up to."

Captain Picard patted his shoulder and headed towards Dirgo in the smaller cavern.

Wesley continued to adjust the frequency. But he could not concentrate with the steady pounding in his skull. He thought if he could just close his eyes, for just a minute, maybe it would help.

"Just a minute..." he whispered to himself...as the darkness called to him. He felt himself falling. He was floating in mid air. The pain was still there... but he could sense that he no longer was. He could hear his name being called but it couldn't have been a minute yet, he was so tired.

"Mr. Crusher...open your eyes!" the fading voice called.

"Just a minute..."

"Mr. Crusher!..."

"...minute..." he whispered. He couldn't open his eyes, he just needed a minute to regain his strength. He just stopped hearing the voice.

"Wesley! Ensign Crusher wake up!"

Picard shouted shaking Wesley's shoulder. Dirgo stood above him with a satisfied smirk on his face. Wesley had been unresponsive for more than 30 minutes. If he didn't wake up soon, he worried that damage to his mind...his brilliant mind could become permanent. *********************************************************************************************************************
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