Safely back on Hammersley, the crew rushed to make sure Bomber was ok. Swain was first into the ward room as he prepped the bed for Bomber's arrival. He made sure to show no emotion, but privately he was worried. He knew that they were a fair way out from land, even further than helicopter range. And she'd suffered a lot; this was one of his most important cases yet, for it wasn't just Bomber's physical health he was worried about. Buffer easily carried the limp sailor into the ward room, depositing her on the bed but reluctant to break contact; it was the only thing assuring him that she was ok. Spider, who deeply cared for Bomber, was beyond worried and desperate to do what he could to remedy the situation. His heart was in his throat, the swirling in his stomach etched on his face as he looked on concerned. The captain and X weren't too far behind, each themselves needing to see how Bomber was doing. Mike, though he trusted Kate more than he would let on, was anxious to see the sailor he had let down, and X because she needed reassurance that her crew, her men, could save Bomber, her fellow female crew member and someone who had quickly become a friend.

"Swain how's she doing?" Mike Flynn's voice cut through the chaos of the wardroom.

Swain barely had a chance to think, he couldn't easily access the patient thanks to Buffer and Spider who were equally as in the way. And forget thinking clearly, what with his boss and 2IC watching his every move!

"I need some space Sir. If I'm going to help Bomber as best as I can, I really need all non-essential personnel to leave."

Mike shared a tense look with X and sighed, "Ok you heard the man. Swain, I'll get RO to put through a call to Fleet Medical."

Swain smiled appreciatively and nodded as everyone reluctantly made to leave. Then, noticing the obviously distressed face of Spider added,

"Look with Bomb out I will need a hand Spider."

Relief flooded his features, as the young Seaman quickly agreed. "Yes Swain, anything I can do to help Bomber"

"But mate, you'll need to leave your feelings out of this." Swain added as an afterthought, with the room now empty he set to work

His expression was unreadable to Spider, yet the younger Sailor caught the meaning, or so he thought. Glancing down at the still conscious Bomber, Spider registered no emotion or feeling on her face and so tried to push down his own emotions that had developed from somewhere unknown.

Despite Spider's lack of experience in such situations, the duo moved with relative ease throughout the ward room. Bomber, for her part was still and quite, still processing the events of the last few hours in her concussed and sluggish mind. She barely registered the pain in her ribs and shoulder, instead focusing on breathing and knowing that she was ok.

Swain was feeling an enormous amount of pressure, with his second medic now as the patient. And in such a fragile state at that. He was cautious in assessing and treating her injuries, having no idea what she had been subjected to on The Symphony at the hands of Harris. Starting with the obvious, Swain got her saline drip started before he checked her head injury, which was thankfully not too deep. Using the pen light to gauge her pupillary reaction, he attempted to also gain a verbal response.

"Pupils are a bit sluggish Bomb, I'd say you definitely have a concussion." He attempted to break the silence while ascertaining where she stood mentally.

Though Bomber's eyes caught his briefly, there was none of her usual light hearted banter, or even an answer at all. If she were really ok, she surely would have called him out for referring to her as sluggish, or even pointed out that the injury was so obvious even Spider himself could have called it. Spider was sure it took all his will power not to say something as he worriedly looked at Swain before returning his gaze to Bomber; this was not the Able Seaman he knew and loved.

Undeterred, Swain pressed on. "It's luckily not too deep, won't need more than some butterfly clips after I clean the wound. Do you have a headache at all? You'll definitely need a CT back at base."

Clearing her dry throat, Bomber attempted to answer, though it was barely more than a croak. "A bit," Bomber replied, the ache in her throat finally awakening Bomber to the result of the trauma her body had been through. "It doesn't hurt the most"

Though brief, barely two sentences, it was progress and Spider grinned as Swain secretly congratulated himself. However it was apparent that she was struggling.

"I'll get you some pain meds Mate; just let me check out the rest of you" Swain spoke gently to the chef, before instructing Spider to assist with cleaning the wound for covering.

With her head injury taken care of, Swain moved to her beaten torso, just as Buffer returned with the news of a doctor on the line. Buffer and Spider watched on as Swain and the navy doctor conversed, throwing in BP and HR and other medical phrases they could barely understand. When Swain removed Bomber's shirt to get a clearer picture, Spider couldn't help but gasp. Her shoulder, was unsurprisingly dislocated, however the most alarming sight was her black and blue ribs, which rose and fell painfully with each shallow breath.

Seeing this, and her tired, defeated eyes, Buffer couldn't take any more and promptly left the ward room. He felt sick, deep down he knew this was Harris' fault, but right now, with her injuries laid out for him to see, Buffer felt responsible. Surely there was something he could have done. Could have been faster, smarter, could have stopped this. Upset with himself and the situation, Buffer hurried to the boat deck, suddenly desperate for air.

"Buffer bridge. Buffer bridge." XO's voice boomed over the intercom, and Buffer knew that he couldn't hide any more.

A/N: So I totally intended to include a lot more in this chapter, but it got way too long! So another chapter will be up Saturday probably. I'm trying to get as much done before uni gets too hectic! On that note, I have a new SP story, In Plain Sight. Check it out if you're interested! Thanks for sticking with me and reading this latest chapter