Recap

Reno walked into the cave and halted suddenly. She raised an eyebrow. The Captain and Tilly lay near the fire, both sleeping soundly. The Ensign was spooning her commander. Pike was shirtless. Tilly was stripped to her bra and underwear. The Captain's uniform pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. For some reason, and maybe it's better not to ask, she thought, Pike's hands were tied together and to a supply cube.

She loudly cleared her throat. The Ensign blinked at her sleepily as Reno queried dryly, "Are we interrupting something?"

ooooo

Tilly jerked up, grimacing when the sudden motion jarred her broken leg and sore shoulder. She looked at Reno, stared down at her Captain and took in her and his state of dress or rather undress. "Oh damn and blast and damn again. He's like a five-year-old, kicking off the frigging blanket every time I cover him up."

Reno's eyebrow arched higher. "Yes, the Captain's sleeping habits was certainly the question uppermost in my mind."

"You see … I found the Captain … near a frozen lake … he almost fell in and I stopped him and kissed him … well maybe that isn't important right now …" Tilly stammered as her explanation came out in a stream of consciousness.

"OK, let's skip ahead and return to that later." Reno urged as she thought, I will not laugh, I. Will. Not. Laugh. Oh Una if I you could see this …

Tilly awkwardly moved her hands back and forth and then gave up, conceding there was no way to salvage either her or the Captain's modesty. "I was trying to lower his temperature."

"Hmmm. Typically a scantily clothed woman or man accomplishes the opposite."

"I meant his fever!" Tilly frowned as she emphasized the last word.

Reno pointed. "By stuffing something in his pants?" She chuckled and shook her head. Time to stop teasing the poor girl. "Detmer and Bonnie are about 5 minutes behind me, let's get the Captain untied and … well … zipped before they …"

Pike was slowly swimming back to consciousness. His arms ached and his hands felt numb. He tried to extend his arms and ease the pain but was met with resistance. He tried to flex his hands and failed. As panic threatened, he put a little more muscle into his efforts. Which were met with more resistance. And he couldn't turn onto his back. The panic bloomed and he jerked, hard, using the strength he had honed from many years of training and athletics. He felt and heard something heavy scrape across the floor as his arms moved slightly. He tugged again, this time putting every ounce of power and muscle he possessed into it.

He cried out when, after rolling onto his back, a corner of the supply cube landed on his shoulder with a loud thud. Why are my hands stuck together? Reaching up to check for injuries, he felt something warm and sticky on his bare chest. Feeling even more confused, Pike thought, what is that and where is my shirt? His eyes flew open, and he saw a mostly naked Tilly leaning over him, staring at him with concern in her eyes. What the hell happened …

At the same moment Bonnie and Detmer stepped into the cave.

Chaos erupted.

Bonnie exclaimed with delight, "Captain!"

Reno tossed the blanket tangled around his boots over her Captain muttering to him, "You will thank me for this later. And owe me big time."

Having caught sight of the blood running down her commander's chest, Bonnie rushed to his side.

Detmer, smirking, tossed Tilly another blanket and helped her move out of Bonnie's way.

"Get my clothes, please!" She urgently whispered to Detmer. "They are by the fire drying."

"OK," Detmer patted Tilly's hand and added quietly for the benefit of her body-shy friend who rarely was seen in public without long sleeves and long pants. "You're gorgeous by the way."

Tilly snorted and shook her head slightly as she blushed. "Thanks."

After the two of them retreated to a corner, and Detmer helped Tilly dress, she grinned impishly and said, "I know you are hot for the Captain, and hey, who doesn't relish a good stuck in a cave fantasy, but was it wise to play-act it?"

Tilly moaned, "Oh. But … he was cold, I was cold, I was using body heat to keep us …" Tilly stopped realizing Detmer hadn't witnessed that part.

"Uh-huh. You were wrapped around him? As the big spoon? Oh, this just gets better and better!"

"But there was ice, mostly snow but some ice, and … and we were wet …"

"Ice as in Fifty Shades of Grey ice trailing in a line down … you know what I mean." Detmer replied and then cleared her throat and said huskily, "Wet in all the right places? How many times have you read that book now? And, for the record, and to indulge my fantasy life, who was dominating whom?"

Tilly shook her head vigorously. Her voice raised an octave and squeaked as she tried to explain. "No, no. Captain Pike was very sick … is sick, I was trying to lower his fever using packs of snow."

"I'll stop teasing now. Sorry, but after the events and stress of the past couple of days, I really needed a laugh."

"So glad I could accommodate you," Tilly countered sarcastically.

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me," Detmer added her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Reno and Bonnie joined them. Bonnie reported, "I've managed to stop the bleeding and given him a light sedative. Tell me what other injuries or symptoms you treated."

"And how and where you found him. If there isn't a need to rush." Reno added.

"There's not, he's stable for now." Bonnie assured her.

Tilly looked sheepish, "I know you told me to stay at the cave …"

Reno sighed, "I did, but your impetuous decision must have saved the Captain, so I'll overlook it … this time."

"I couldn't wait and just … do nothing. Not after he stayed behind to rescue me from that cliff edge." Tilly's eyes turned dreamy. "You should have seen it, at first I thought I was hallucinating, but he walked down the sheer rock rather than repelled! Appropriately tethered of course. Said that method left an arm free to hold a weapon."

Temper soaring and with an indignant tone of voice she added, "He was not drinking any water rations, so I would have more time to wait for Discovery's return!" Her voice rose in volume. "I am not pleased which I will make clear to him, using very small words, and in a manner he will not soon forget!"

"That explains his severe dehydration, that and the high fever you mentioned. Well done with the cold packs and compresses. And when anyone teases you about it, placing one directly on the groin was a smart move." Bonnie chuckled, "And most likely very uncomfortable for the Captain." She then assured Tilly, "Don't worry, I've already got an IV going to replace the fluids. I doubt there was any permanent damage to his organs."

Tilly continued relaying her story, explaining about the snow shelter, the almost frozen pond and the Captain carrying her back to the cave. How he reset her broken leg and made sure she was safe and comfortable before he rested.

"Wait, he survived the storm by building a shelter with snow?" Detmer asked.

"And lining it with tree branches." Tilly added.

"And he did this without eyesight?" Bonnie reiterated, her tone of voice sounding close to awe.

These youngsters don't realize how dangerous trekking around the galaxy was only ten years ago, Reno admitted to herself. And how quickly they have put the Klingon war behind them, though I don't know if that is good or bad, when we forget history, we tend to repeat it.

"The shuttle is a total loss, not that it would have been able to take off again after exposure to the geometric storm. We were fortunate the Captain was able to get the supplies out before it exploded." Detmer said.

"Tilly, why did you insert a chest catheter?" Bonnie asked.

"Captain Pike told me to. He could barely breathe or speak. And I didn't, insert it that is. I helped a bit but lost my nerve and the Captain shoved it in himself."

Bonnie looked thoughtful, "He must have broken a rib, maybe one of the ones still fragile from the exploding phaser incident. I miss my scanners. Anyway, it could have punctured a lung and collapsed it causing a closed pneumothorax." Noticing their confused expressions she added, "Air escaped the lung into the chest cavity. When that happens, the lung doesn't have room to inflate as you try to breathe. It's all good now, I syphoned out the remaining trapped air and the lung reinflated. Outside of a lot of fluid in his chest, most likely due to the overnight exposure in the frigid air, the Captain is breathing normally. I'll keep a close eye on the fluid given his medical history with childhood asthma. But …" her voice drifted.

"But?" Reno gently prompted.

Bonnie glanced at her sleeping patient, "Inserting a catheter into the chest for a collapsed lung, especially for yourself … that is … that is battlefield medicine and not part of our standard emergency medic training. I think there is a lot we don't know about our new Captain."

"Tell me about it," Tilly chimed in. "I mean the rock walking, and, and when his fever was high, he started talking about personal stuff and what sounded like past missions. There was one where he and a team …"

"Stop." Reno ordered.

"Why?" Tilly asked, confused.

"If it was a mission, it may be classified. And anything personal that was said should remain private," Reno lightly admonished. She handed the Ensign a pad of paper and a pen. "Proper procedure is to document everything you heard while a crewmember was delirious so it can be reviewed by the commanding officer. Do it now before your memories fade."

After Reno walked away and Bonnie returned to her patient, Detmer leaned over to Tilly and said softly, "Too bad, I imagine those exploits were very interesting and revealing."

Tilly nodded, "Oh they were. They really were."