So. What can I say? I am very sorry I haven't written in ages! And I want to thank EVERYONE who has contacted me still interested in this story. It means the world to me! And it pushes me to finish these short stories.

This is set in series 2! I love the early series! I love how everyone is still getting used to everything and not everyone was as friendly with one another as they were later on.

It's about 3.4k words and I hope you enjoy it!

XXX

"I don't want to hear it, Major. You are going on this surveillance mission, and you are accompanying Doctor Bashir. The station can survive without you for a few days."

Kira kept herself from sighing in fears of another Sisko outburst. She pursed her lips and nodded towards her Commanding Officer, before spinning on her toes and exiting his office.

She had to say, she didn't get on with Doctor Bashir. He was too talkative, naïve, smug and among all other contributes, he was just plain annoying. She didn't want to spend any time with him as long as she could help it, and she had a sneaky suspicion that Sisko knew.

The Major hurried down the small flight of stairs from Sisko's office into Ops and made her way for the turbolift, tapping her combadge as she did so.

"Kira to Bashir"

His infuriating accent came through almost immediately "Go ahead, Major"

"Commander Sisko has requested that you come along on the surveillance mission. When does your shift finish?"

"Oh! Okay, yeah, I'll be finishing in about…one hour. Do I need to bring anything?" Kira could hear his excitement through his voice, he was always so eager.

"Just yourself, Doctor, Kira out" She pinched her nose, she was not in the mood to spend a whole three days alone with the Doctor. She didn't have a choice though, so she just had to accept it and move on.

"Promenade" She needed to grab something to eat before her long journey with Bashir.

XXX

To her surprise, she found the Doctor already in the Rio Grande. He was laying a blanket onto a bunk, smoothing out any creases and pumping up the pillows. The Major could see he had done the same for the other bunk as well.

"Doctor" She addressed him as she moved past him towards her bunk. She threw down a PADD onto the mattress and stopped right in front of him. Barely had he had time to respond, before she folded her arms across her chest and stared at him directly "Doctor, this is a surveillance mission, not a vacation. I don't want to hear any life stories, I don't want to have to sit here as you prattle on about meaningless things and I definitely don't want you to talk unless it's very important. You are here in case I get injured, nothing more. Understood?"

For a moment, Julian was completely taken back. When he first saw her enter the runabout, he was happy, and was just about to greet her in turn. That was before she exploded at him. He stood in shock as she ordered him to pretty much remain quiet for the entire three days.

He swallowed and looked her right in the eye "All due respect, Major. I am not spending this mission in complete silence. And I am not only here to tend to any injuries. You are my superior officer, but you cannot speak to me like that"

The Bajoran stared deeply into his eyes, before she sighed and pushed past him to make her way to the controls "We're leaving now, Doctor. So you better take a seat before I set the thrusters"

She didn't even wait for a response, before she pressed a panel and the runabout came to life. Julian felt anger building up inside him, but pushed it down and took a seat next to the Major.

XXX

"Dropping out of warp" Kira said aloud as the Rio Grande slowed down to impulse speed. "Beginning scanning"

It was very hard for Julian to remain quiet. He hadn't said a word for five hours-the longest time he hadn't said a word whilst he was awake! He just nodded his acknowledgement and focussed on the readings in front of him.

Guilt was beginning to overwhelm the Major. Even though she hated the Human Doctor and his constant flirting and talking, she hated him even more for being quiet. She swallowed and closed her eyes briefly; she was never the one to comfortably apologise.

"Doctor, I am sorry I ordered you to stay quiet"

When there was no response, she glanced over to him and saw him tapping away at his PADD. He looked like he was either in a world of his own, or he was ignoring her.

"Julian!"

He startled, nearly dropping the PADD on the floor. He looked at her with big eyes and confusion. "Major, did you want a response from me? I thought I was forbidden to speak" His voice was laced with sarcasm.

She nodded slowly "I deserve that. I'm sorry I told you to be quiet. I have no right to do so"

The Human lowered his PADD and stood up slowly, he moved towards the replicator without so much as a word.

Now she was annoyed. "Doctor!"

"Oh! I am sorry Major. How rude of me, did you want something? Raktajino perhaps?" He ordered a Tarkalean Tea for himself "Extra Sweet" and proceeded to order a Raktajino for his superior officer.

He passed the Klingon beverage to Kira and took his towards the back of the Rio Grande "If you don't mind, Major Kira, I did work a full shift before I came on board and I haven't slept in twenty one hours"

Kira nodded, even though Bashir wasn't looking. She continued with the scan, checking the sensors periodically for any trouble.

XXX

It had now been three hours since Julian went to sleep. And even though he hadn't said anything prior to his sleeping, the runabout seemed even more silent than before. The Major felt uneasy.

Nothing was happening outside the vast expanses of space. She picked up a few readings here and there, but nothing major. They were due to go back to warp soon.

She got up off her chair and made her way towards the bunks. She could hear deep rhythmic breathing and found the Doctor sleeping soundly. She stared at his young face for a while, feeling guilty over the whole exchange.

She'd hate to wake him just yet, she understood how he felt. She had no right to order him to be quiet. He'll probably file an official complaint against her to Commander Sisko. She was on thin ice anyway; this could be the final straw.

Although, maybe Sisko would understand? After all, he himself had complained about his talkative CMO more than once, everyone has. But then again, that's just Julian. He's just a talkative man.

A bleeping caught her attention; she spun round and frowned as the runabout was encased in urgent bleeping.

The noise woke Julian up as well. He jolted up from his bed and jumped when the Major was standing so close to him.

"Major?"

Her eyes grew wide. How could she explain why she was standing literally right next to him? She glanced over her shoulder and spoke without looking at him "Glad to see you're awake, I may need an extra hand"

She marched up towards the cockpit as Julian flattened his wild hair and stifled a yawn. "What's happening, Kira?" He quickly put his boots on and his jacket and moved after her, taking his seat and checking his panel.

"I don't know. I checked only a few moments ago and nothing was anywhere near us! I don't-"

Her voice was cut off as another alarm blared out.

"I'm reading a space anomaly! It's not that big, but it's fast! It's coming towards us!" Julian had to shout for his voice to be heard over the alarms.

"Time until impact?" Kira played with her panel as she tried to find a way to escape.

Julian pressed a few controls "In less than one minute. It's coming from our rear. We need to go forward and-"

The runabout shook as if something had taken hold of it and began throwing it about. The two occupants had to fight to remain in their seats.

A bright orange light engulfed the entire runabout, before the panels exploded, throwing both the Major and the Doctor from their seats. Neither had a chance to react before they were thrown into unconsciousness.

XXX

Consciousness returned slowly.

First, she registered a dull ache behind her eyelids.

Second, she felt something digging into her back.

Finally, her eyes peeled open and the runabout interior came into view. Or what was left of it.

The thing digging into her back was annoying her, she groaned and she propped herself up onto her elbows to relieve the pain.

Once the world stopped spinning this way and that, she slowly stood up and grasped hold of the wall for support. The runabout was a complete mess; panels were flashing and beeping, glass was covering the floor, it was just a dump.

She glanced down to the ground from where she just arose, and saw more shrapnel and debris scattered throughout. She was thankful that the bits she was laying on were not sharp enough to pierce skin.

Once her mind processed everything, she made her way up towards the main panels and began entering demands.

Much to her surprise, and glee, the computer was operational. All she had to do was tap a few buttons and the station was notified of their position and condition.

Now she had to find her companion, which was easier said than done.

She couldn't find a trace of the Human; she couldn't even see the floor as it was covered with metal and glass.

"Doctor?" She called out; she didn't really know what else to try.

When there was no response, she got down on her knees and began digging through the heaps of rubbish.

She didn't stop until she felt something soft.

Her heartbeat quickened and she fastened her pace.

And she found Julian.

She frowned when she saw him. He's face was extremely pale in comparison to his natural skin tone. His eyes appeared sunken and his hair was sticking to his forehead, blood seeped from a gash on his hairline.

"Doctor?" She gently grasped hold of his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake.

Again no response, not even a groan.

"Doctor?!" She raised her voice angrily. She didn't need this, not now. It would be at least three hours until help arrived. That is if the runabout was even in the same place as it was before whatever the hell happened.

"Computer?"

The beep of acknowledgment echoed through and Kira smiled in relief.

"What is our current location?"

The computer gave their location with the upmost accuracy.

She sighed and closed her eyes "Good," she whispered to herself "we're not that far from where we were before"

She quickly scanned the runabout for a medkit and tricorder, and found it amongst the wreckage. She ran over to it and grabbed it and ran back over to her patient.

"Computer, what hit us?"

"Records show it was a spacial rift"

"Has it gone now?"

"Affirmative, the rift is out of scanning range"

Good.

She flicked open the medkit and took the tricorder out and tried to begin her scan.

But the tricorder never turned on. The screen was blank and the little chirps of life were non-existent.

She refrained herself from throwing the tricorder against the nearest wall.

But that wouldn't help anyone.

She had experience in diagnosing injuries back from the Occupation, and Human's weren't all that different from Bajorans.

She had to use her skills to detect any other injuries, and pray she didn't miss anything dangerous.

She gently placed her fingers on his forehead, trying to find the origin of the blood. She found the wound without problem, it wasn't all that big, but it was long. She ripped off her sleeve and began rubbing off the dried blood, before grabbing some alcohol from the medkit and disinfecting the cut.

The Human winced when she began her task, and her heart missed a bit "Julian?"

It was quiet at first, but she could hear his distinct accent mumbling.

"That's it, Julian. Come on, wake up"

"M-major?" his voice was weak, but at least he was talking.

"Yes, I'm here. Can you open your eyes?"

He mumbled something incoherently, but managed to peel his eyes open a fraction. "Wh-what happened?" He swallowed and tried to lift himself on his elbows, before he gasped in pain and literally dropped back down to the floor. His face grimaced.

"Be still, what hurts?" Kira placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder to keep him in place, and looked up and down his body to see if she could spot any broken bones or lacerations.

It took him a few attempts to find his voice "Stomach"

She nodded eagerly and ripped open his jumpsuit, and swore under her breath when she saw extreme bruising all over his stomach and chest.

It looked like something slammed into him, or he slammed into something.

"Do you remember something hitting you?" She applied pressure gently and instantly pulled back when Bashir yelped and screwed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry"

"I-i-it's not your f-fault" He gasped and tried to get his breathing under control "I-I don't remember anything after the first impact…of whatever it was that…hit us. I-I think my ribs are broken, i-if not, they're very very cracked"

"Looking at the bruising, I'd say it's a safe bet on broken" She rummaged through the medkit and began sorting through instruments and hyposprays "Have you got a dermal regenerator in here?" She couldn't find one, but held hope that Julian had one somewhere else.

"Th-there should be. Unless it was destroyed or-or smashed" Kira could hear his voice strain with the pain.

The medkit wasn't that big, and it wasn't that damaged, but she still could not find the dermal regenerator. She groaned in frustration and slammed the box shut.

"I can't do anything for your ribs, Doctor. You'll just have to stay still and not speak"

Despite the pain, Julian managed a laugh "Y-you still ordering me to sh-shut up?"

The Major was astounded that he made light of the conversation. There he was in extreme pain and discomfort, and he still manages to make jokes.

She allowed herself a small smile "I am. And this time, I mean it. No speaking, it will only cause you more pain. Just focus on breathing and keeping calm, try not to sleep just in case that head wound is worse than it looks"

Julian swallowed with effort "M-my head doesn't feel bad. I'm not even dizzy or headachy, it's j-just my stomach. I-I don't know if anything is punctured o-or torn. It's just hard to forget about it. Is there any pain meds?"

"Of course! Hang on…" she reopened the medkit and found the pain medication. She loaded the hypospray up and pressed it against the Human's neck. "There we go. Better?"

A small smile slowly appeared on his face "Much. Thank you"

She gently placed the hypospray back into the medkit "You're welcome"

A pang of guilt hit her in her stomach. Not even one hour ago, she was ordering him to be quiet, she was rude to him. And now, he seems to have forgotten about it.

"Doctor. I want to apologise"

She got no answer, and spun her head to face him, worried that he'd lost consciousness but also furious that he was ignoring her. "Doctor?!"

He started and looked at her "Wh-what? Sorry I was…preoccupied"

"Preoccupied? With what?" She frowned.

"I'm a bit uncomfortable, Major. I'm trying very hard not to pass out"

Her frown deepened "But the hypospray I just literally gave you…"

"Has dulled the pain considerably, but it's still very painful. I'm sorry… what did you say before?" He moved his gaze slightly over her face, but he seemed to look straight through her.

She moved closer to his side and put a hand to his forehead "You're a bit warm, not as warm as I would have thought though" She removed her hands and placed them awkwardly on her lap as she knelt down beside his body "I said I wanted to apologise"

"Wh-what for?"

"I had no right to order you to stay quiet. I took away your freedom of speech and I apologise"

He smiled, and almost immediately grimaced "I-I forgive you, Major" his head rolled to the side and his eyes began drifting shut "Kira…I can't…the pain…"

"No-no-no! Julian you have to stay awake!"

But he was already gone.

XXX

The Major had managed to find emergency blankets in one of the back storage areas and wrapped them round Julian's unconscious body. She had nothing to do. She couldn't fly the runabout anywhere, she couldn't replicate anything, she couldn't speak to anyone, and she hated it.

The Human stirred and his eyes slowly opened, the Major focused entirely on him, her fingers barely touching his face "Come on, Julian. That's it"

But to her dismay, his head rolled heavily to the side and his eyes closed once more. She wanted to punch something in frustration.

She sighed and looked away from the Doctor "Computer, any sign of help?"

"A federation runabout has just entered sensor range. ETA: thirty five minutes"

She nodded to herself in understanding and looked back at Julian. His face was unnaturally pale, his breathing shallow.

She gently moved the blanket off of him and looked again at his battered and bruised stomach. It seemed much worse than she remembered, she couldn't see his natural skin colour anywhere on his stomach, it was just a mass of black and blue and red.

A thought occurred to her, she couldn't believe she didn't think of it before "Computer, scan Doctor Bashir and list his injuries"

"Mild concussion, left ankle sprained, extensive bruising to the stomach, three ribs broken, four ribs cracked, near puncture to the spleen, internal bleeding"

"Spleen?" She had to think back to remember where the spleen was located. One of his broken ribs must be pressing against it; any sudden movement could cause it to rupture.

"Ju-" she was interrupted by the sound of the transporter beam. She spun round and saw Odo and two medical officers.

"What are you doing here so fast? The computer said you're half hour away!" Kira jumped up and stared at Odo' face, like she didn't trust him.

"The computer was obviously mistaken, Major. Would you rather we waited around?" Odo looked over her shoulder and saw the two medical officers already scanning the Doctor and administering hyposprays. "Are you alright, Kira?"

"I'm fine, Odo. Julian was the only one hurt" She glanced back towards her colleague and back towards her good friend "Can we go back to the Station now? I need to visit the Bajoran Temple"

Odo was thrown back at her request "We are going back, Major. But why do you need to go to the Temple? What happened?"

She fought hard to keep back the tears "I need to be forgiven…for what I've done, for what I've said"

Now Odo was even more worried "What did you do, Kira? You didn't cause these injuries to Doctor Bashir did you?"

Her head shot up and her deadly gaze shot through him "I didn't hurt Julian, Odo. At least…not physically. But I did say hurtful things, and I need to be forgiven"

"I think, Major, that the only one who can forgive you is Doctor Bashir himself"

"He'd never forgive me, I was rude to him. I treated him like he was in the way. He didn't deserve it"

"Major. Do you remember that patient a few months back that attacked Doctor Bashir?" Odo asked, his hands moving up to hold her arms.

The Bajoran frowned, and nodded, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Do you remember just what he did to Doctor Bashir? He beat him, cut him, kicked him, I can't remember the amount of broken bones he suffered. But, once the patient was taken away and Doctor Bashir's injuries were healed, the Doctor requested to speak to his attacker. You know what happens next don't you, Major?"

Now she knew where this was going, she smiled at her friend "Julian forgave him. He was just scared and didn't know Julian was trying to help him, but he was still forgiven"

"You are a very private person, Major. Not only two years ago, you were under Cardassian rule. The Doctor knows that, and we all know you can say things you don't mean. He'll forgive you"

She swallowed and nodded, looking back at the two medical officers as they finished prepping the Human for transportation.

Odo tapped his combadge "Computer, five to beam up"

XXX

So that was a very very bad ending, but I am so fed up ending my stories with Julian in the Infirmary. I'm out the flow. I hope you liked it. It's not my best, I admit that. I just wanted to write whump and I have.

Any suggestions let me know. Any story ideas let me know.

Thank you

xxx