A/N: As always, I don't own anything, but I hope you like this chapter!! Sorry it was so long in coming!
"Dammit!" McCoy shouted.
They arrived a second later in sickbay, the medical team pushed Chekov to a corner as a nurse handed McCoy a defibrillator.
Kirk skidded to a halt a few feet from Chekov. Sulu rushed in behind Kirk. Stopping beside his captain and looking horrified as McCoy shouted "clear".
"Oh, God." Sulu whispered.
Kirk rested a reassuring hand on the distraught mans shoulder.
McCoy looked angrily at Chekov's face, "Don't you dare do this!" he shouted, "don't you dare die!"
As if following McCoy's orders, as McCoy pushed the paddles on Chekov's chest and delivered the third jarring electrical jolt, Chekov's heart beat once. Silence fell over the room, the only sound the heart monitor, it beeped once, twice, a third time and finally settling into a weak but steady rhythm.
Kirk smiled as McCoy turned to face him, a small grin flittered over the doctors face until he turned back to Chekov and called to the medical staff, "prep him for surgery."
Kirk turned to Sulu, the captain watched as a tear slowly slid down Sulu's cheek, "He's going to be ok," Kirk promised.
Sulu just nodded, not trusting his voice for fear he would break down completely.
"You should go get some rest, both of you." McCoy said firmly, when both men's mouths opened to protest, the doctor continued, "Chekov won't be out of surgery for another hour at least, and if I see either one of you in here before that hour is up, I will hypo your asses."
Kirk nodded and reluctantly pulled Sulu from the sick bay and out into the corridor.
"I'll never be able to sleep with him still in there." Sulu mumbled quietly.
"I know." Kirk sighed, "come on, we can't go in there so we better find somewhere to hold up for an hour."
Sulu sighed sadly but nodded.
Kirk pulled Sulu softly towards the lounge for a break.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The hour passed slowly, a game of chess was started but it soon lay forgotten as Kirk and Sulu thought about their friend laying silent on the gurney.
Kirk looked at the clock, the hour would be up in ten minutes.
"Come on, let's go see how Chekov is."
Sulu all but ran to sickbay, he stood bouncing on the balls of his feet waiting for Kirk to catch up.
Kirk hid a grin as he saw Sulu practically jumping in anticipation. "Come on. Let's go see him."
The door sild smoothly open as Kirk and Sulu entered. McCoy looked up from standing over Chekov's bed, the Ensign sleeping calmly in a sedative induced coma.
"How is he?" Sulu whispered, staring shell-shocked at Chekov's still, too pale features.
"If he doesn't run off again anytime soon, he should make a full recovery. There seems to be no permanent side effects from his previous injuries and his rib and lung were easily fixed. To help heal his injured lung, I've put him into a chemically induced coma." At Sulu's stricken expression and Kirk's worried eyes, McCoy quickly continued, "It's only to give his body time to recuperate. He's been through one hell of a week."
Kirk nodded and pulled McCoy into his office, giving Sulu some well needed time alone with his injured friend.
"God, Pavel. You scared me…don't ever do that to me again!" Sulu whispered to his unconscious friend. "You ever do that again…" Sulu watched the motionless navigator. He felt useless, unable to protect or wake his friend.
"Come back…" Sulu muttered into Chekov's ear, grasping the navigators hand lightly in his slightly shaking ones.
~*~*~*~*~*
Kirk pulled McCoy away from Chekov's bed, taking him into the older mans office.
"How is he?" As McCoy opened his mouth to answer, Kirk added, "Really."
McCoy sighed, "He's having a hard time. His body's not taking kindly to all the sedatives we've been giving him. He slipped into a coma after we stabilised him. We don't know when he will wake up. He's taken quite a beating over the last few days."
Kirk nodded, turning to look through the window out at Chekov. "But he'll be alright, right?"
McCoy sighed again, "I'm sure he will be, but until he wakes, we can't be sure there's no brain damage." At Kirk's stunned look, McCoy explained, "He coded for five minutes, we intubated him, but with a persons mind, there's never a certainty until they wake."
It was Kirk's turn to sigh, "But he will live?"
"Barring any and all complications, he will." McCoy answered.
Kirk nodded and left McCoy standing silently beside his desk.
~*~*~*~*~*
Sulu sat beside Chekov's bed for the next four days. Slowly his vitals stabilised and improved. Everyone came to visit the young man, but he slept through each visit.
On the morning of the fifth day, Chekov moaned and twitched, a small movement but it had Sulu out of his chair and beside Chekov in an instant, gripping the younger mans hand tightly. He called for Dr. McCoy, hope and fear playing for dominance in his mind.
McCoy came running at Sulu's excited cry. "What? What happened?"
Sulu turned to McCoy, tears blurring the pilots vision, a bright smile gracing his lips for the first time in days, "he moved and moaned."
McCoy checked Chekov's vitals and smiled, "He seems to be waking up."
Chekov moaned again, turning his face towards the familiar sounds.
"Chekov? Pavel? Can you here me?" Sulu asked quietly, leaning forwards and into Chekov's line of sight.
"Hi…karu?" the words were whispered, his voice cracking as pain flared in his chest.
"Yes, it's me." Sulu beamed, thanking any and every God he knew for giving him back his friend, "How are you feeling?"
Chekov closed his eyes, his brow furrowed as he took stock of his arms and legs. "Think ew'ything is still there…" he joked weakly.
"You gave us quite a scare there kid." McCoy smiled from behind Sulu. Moving slowly, he rounded the bed and began his check up.
McCoy asked simple questions, "Who are you?" "Where are you?" "What's the year?" "What's the name of the ship you're on?"
When Chekov answered all the questions correctly, McCoy told him that there was no lasting effects from his 'gallivanting' and left to inform the Captain that Chekov was finally awake.
Chekov was quickly tiring, eyes slowly slipping closed of their own volition. Turning his head slightly, looking Sulu in the eye, he noticed Sulu's eyes growing wet but the pilot was to stubborn to let them fall. A small smile gracing his lips before his eyes slid closed.
Sulu smiled with his friend, everything was slowly getting better. Chekov would be released soon, everything would be alright.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story, I'm thinking of writing an epilogue so it's not quite over yet, but I hope you liked this chapter, so review!! Thanks ^_^