CRASH
Chapter 2
Chakotay regained consciousness and tried to sit up, and his head seemed to explode in pain. Pressing a hand to it, he looked around.
He could see the shuttle, or what was left of it, and, as he looked closer, he spotted heavy drag marks leading from there to his position.
He turned his head to the left, and saw Kathryn, sprawled out on the ground beside him, her right arm resting over her stomach.
Her face was turned away from him, and he reached over and gently brought it to where he could see it. He gasped. The entire right side of her face was covered in blood. It leaked from a large gash on her forehead, and as he pulled her head closer, a drop of blood traced a thin path from the side of her mouth to her chin.
Suddenly, she shuddered and began coughing up blood.
More blood.
He realized his hand was shaking, and he slowly withdrew it. His gaze was drawn back to the trail that led to him. Kathryn must have dragged him, but how? No one could do that in her condition. With a start, he saw that there was a medkit lying at Kathryn's feet. He pulled out the tricorder and ran it over her prone body.
Gods, she had a serious concussion, internal bleeding, two broken bones in her arm—the ulna and radius, three broken ribs, a punctured lung, several deep lacerations and numerous cuts and bruises. How in the hell had she managed to pull him out of there?
She began convulsing and coughing up blood once more, and he turned her gently on her side, eliciting a deep groan from her. Her eyes fluttered, and she opened them, but they were unfocused.
"Chakotay?" she said in a feeble voice. "Chakotay, where are you?" He reached for her good hand, clasping it between both of his own.
"I'm right here, Kathryn, right here," he said softly.
"Chakotay, I—" She stopped speaking, and her eyes rolled back in her head.
"KATHRYN!" he cried, fumbling for the tricorder once more.
As he scanned her quickly, the blood drained from his face. Her heart had stopped, and she wasn't breathing.
He immediately began CPR, breathing for her and compressing her chest. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, she resumed breathing on her own, but she didn't regain consciousness.
Pale-faced, Chakotay struggled to his feet and, after taking another long look at Kathryn, made his way back to the shuttle.
The fumes seemed to have evaporated for the most part, though it hurt to take deep breaths.
He activated the homing signal and dug through the rubble for the blankets and rations. He found them and hurried back outside.
Dropping to his knees beside Kathryn, he draped a blanket over her and began searching the medkit for the dermal regenerator. He swept it slowly across her forehead, partially closing the cut and slowing the bleeding. Moving the blanket to the side and tugging her jacket and shirt from the waistband of her pants, he revealed her bloody abdomen.
He ran the regenerator over the deep cut in the center of her flat stomach, closing it partway and slowing the flow of scarlet liquid that ran from it. Already, a large, nasty bruise was beginning to form around the gash.
Once again, he examined his surroundings. He saw a small opening in a cliff to his right, and decided that it would make a good cover.
He pulled her shirt back down, grabbed the medkit, blankets, and rations, and carefully gathered Kathryn into his arms. She was very light, but he was still weak from the accident, making it harder for him to carry her. He started out quickly toward the opening.
Her beautiful shoulder-length hair brushed his arm, and he looked down at her lovely face. Even now, her delicate features were the picture of perfection.
He sighed, tearing his gaze from the pretty picture and concentrating on making it to their temporary shelter.
He entered the cave and strode to the very back, gently setting Kathryn down.
He removed his jacket and shirt, using the latter to wipe her face softly to rid it of the blood. He brushed the cut on her forehead, and she moaned.
He winced at the sound.
He hated to see her hurting so.
It broke his heart in two.
She moaned again, and Chakotay realized that she was waking.
"Kathryn?" he whispered. "Kathryn, can you hear me?" Her eyes opened, and she stared up at him.
"Chakotay?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Wh-where are we?" she asked softly.
"We crashed the shuttle, remember? You dragged me out of the shuttle, and then you blacked out. I brought you here." She struggled to raise herself, and, against his better judgment, he put his hand at the small of her back, helping her sit up. Her eyes closed, and she swayed slightly, but when he tried to get her to lie back down, she refused. She looked around, then focused her gaze on the man beside her.
"Let me just ask you one thing, Kathryn. How did you manage to drag this big old body of mine that far? And in your condition?" She seemed to stiffen at his words.
"What do you mean, my condition?" Chakotay sighed in exasperation.
"What I mean is you have several broken bones and you've lost a lot of blood. Not to mention your concussion." Now she sighed.
"Chakotay, don't worry about me—"
"Don't worry? Don't worry?! I had to do CPR when you went into cardiac arrest!! How in the hell am I supposed to keep from worrying?!" he cried. She blinked, unable to comprehend the immensity of what he was saying.
"Chakotay, please-I don't-you can't—" She stopped. Reaching up, she brushed her hand over her forehead, wincing at the contact. When she pulled it away, she saw that her fingertips were bloody.
"I used the dermal regenerator on your cuts, but the Doc's going to have to do the rest once we get back to Voyager." She nodded slowly, dazed.
"Wait, did you say 'we' crashed the shuttle? As I recall, you were at the helm when we hit this planet."
"Yes, well, I didn't see you doing anything to help us land a little more gently."
Their banter continued back and forth for a short time before Chakotay insisted that Kathryn rest.
She refused at first, but he persisted until she gave in, too tired to argue.
He lay down beside her as she slept, scant inches away from her warm body as he stared at her back.
Slowly, his eyes began to close, and soon, he was fast asleep.
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