The senor staff minus the two commanding officers made it to sickbay in a record time, even before the Doctor had gotten the couple onto biobeds.
Tom, who had walked in first, came to a dead halt at the sight of the bodies Captain and Commander on the floor lying intertwined like the lovers they should have been, but never were.
"They're not breathing, and I'm not reading any heart beats!" the Doctor exclaimed, and shot a hasty glance at Tom. "Help me get them to biobeds!" he slightly reprimanded him.
Tom shot into action, gently prying the two apart while Harry and B'Elanna grabbed the stretchers that would transfer the Captain and Commander onto the biobeds without jolting them.
"2 CC of netinaline!" the Doctor ordered.
"Netinaline? That's used for bringing people from the dead!" Tom exclaimed.
"They're close enough, Mr. Paris!" the EMH snapped back in his worry for his patients. "Then set up a hyperencephalogram to record their brain waves. They were down there without oxygen for at least seven minutes."
The rest of the bridge crew could only stand and watch helplessly as the two medical officers walked back and forth between Kathryn and Chakotay, taking continuous scans and injecting both with different dosages of medication.
"I've got a heart beat!" Tom said joyfully. "The brain wave scans are also registering brain activity in the Captain."
The Doctor hurried over. "She's coming around. Give her 2 CC of morphenolog for the pain. What about the Commander?"
Tom shook his head dejectedly. "Nothing yet."
"20 CC hyperzine," the Doctor said hastily, holding out his hand for the hypospray. Injecting Chakotay's neck, he picked up his tricorder again as Tom helped Kathryn to a sitting position.
"Chakotay!" Kathryn nearly went to pieces when she saw the man she had finally admitted that she loved lying motionless.
"It's all right, Captain," Tom attempted to reassure her as she pushed past him to Chakotay's side, grasping one of his limp hands.
"Don't die on me, Chakotay, not now," she implored him, even with the knowledge that there was no way he could hear her.
"It's not working," the Doctor said to himself, absorbed in his work and not knowing the effect of his words.
Kathryn paled noticeable and grasped his hand tighter, her lips moving with unintelligible words, but seeming less panicked.
"Inoprovalene!" the Doctor ordered Tom. "15 CC."
Tom slapped the medication into his waiting palm. After injecting the Commander, the Doctor's face showed no emotion. "Upping to 40 CC," he said as his nimble fingers called up the dosage on the hypospray. "Going to 55 CC," he said a moment later, after nothing happened.
Kathryn bit her lip, waiting for any sign from the Doctor, and listening intently to the tricorder's hum. After finishing his scan, the computer program shut his tricorder slowly, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, Captain. There is nothing more I can do."
She simply looked at him, and when he broke her gaze, she moved them down to look at her second in command, gazing at their entangled hands.
Tom's heart went out to her, standing there like a lost child not knowing what to do. But this was Captain Janeway, the one who had saved all of their lives countless times, who knew exactly what to do.
"Give him 80 CC," she said quietly.
"Captain, its-" the Doctor made an effort to protest, but she cut him off.
"I am still the Captain of this vessel, and that is a direct order that you will obey."
Taking the still filled hypospray back in his hand, the Doctor injected him with the ordered dose. Tom ran his tricorder down the length of Chakotay's unmoving body, then checked the brain scan.
"Wait a minute. . . I think I've got something!" Tom cried elatedly.
Chakotay inhaled deeply, nearly gasping as the high dosage awakened him from his lifeless state. His hand clutched Kathryn's as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but was halted by Tom, the Doctor, and Kathryn, who had flung her arms around him and pushed him back down by kissing him deeply.
Chakotay had no protests, but Tom's eyes nearly bulged from his head at this unexpected twist. After he had regained his senses, Tom smiled widely, glad that the command team had finally gotten the hint. All it had taken was a shuttle accident and lake full of coffee.
Kathryn kissed Chakotay, a kiss that drifted towards new times together, and a sharing of new experiences. It was also a promise of commitment and love, and a dream for a happily ever after.
The two didn't even notice when Tom moved over to the sickbay console and start calling up data on the 'K & C' betting pool. This pool was the largest and most steadily growing of all the bets Tom had running, and it looked like it was about to pay off for someone.
"Commander Chakotay!" Tom said, startling the two and breaking them apart. "You've won the betting pool."
"What?" Chakotay said, still groggy.
"Congratulations, Chakotay," Kathryn said, surprising everyone. "I put in all my bets for a later date."
"Well, it looks like I've got plenty of extra rations now. A cup of coffee?" he asked Kathryn with a slightly roguish grin on his face.
"No thanks! I think I've all the coffee I can handle for one day," Kathryn smiled back at him.
Tom looked startled. "Harry, you won!"
"Won what? I thought the Commander won the betting pool," the young Ensign said, confused.
"Not that betting pool! The betting on the day that Captain Janeway would refuse a cup of coffee." Tom was amazed to see two of his largest betting pools paying on the same day.
"I did?" Harry said in disbelief.
"You sure did, Starfleet," B'Elanna ribbed him. "Come on. You can buy me dinner."
"What about me?" Tom said pitifully as everyone laughed.
"You can come too, I suppose," B'Elanna said with fake distain, then grinned. "Let's go before this Klingon gets hungry enough to eat the two of you!"
"Come on Tuvok, I'll buy you a drink," Harry said, spreading his newfound wealth with everyone.
Tuvok agreed, but Tom suspected it was mainly because he wished to give the Captain and Commander some time to themselves, not because he wanted a drink.
The four officers left to eat and to spread the good new of the command team's recovery while the Doctor finished checking them.
"You're free to go, but you are both to take at least a day off. I'm not asking for anything else, because I know you won't listen to me if I add more time," the Doctor said, having learned that from experience. The couple nodded their agreement, then exited sickbay.
"Let's swing by the bridge for a moment, I'm curious to see who's on duty," Kathryn suggested as they walked into the turbolift.
"Deck one," Chakotay ordered, as they were whisked up to the command center.
The only noise the two could hear when the stepped quietly onto the darkened bridge was light snoring.
Kathryn exchanged a look of incredulity with Chakotay as she gazed over the railing to her Captain's chair below. The young ensign was still snoring away.
"Kamar!" Chakotay said, just loud enough to startle the ensign awake. He turned around to see the ship's two most superior officers regarding him.
"Captain! C - Commander!" he stuttered in aggregation. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's all right, Ensign. I only suggest that you don't let Lt. Commander Tuvok catch you. He's a stickler for the rules, you know." Kathryn could help but smile at the flustered young man as she turned and the two left the bridge.
"Are you sure that was such a good idea, Kathryn? Kamar might fall asleep again." Chakotay said after the doors had shut. "Deck three," he said to the computer as they started descending.
"After that wake up call, I'm not so sure. Besides," she said, pulling him close and whispering in his ear, "we've been relieved of duty, remember?"
"Thank goodness for that," Chakotay said. "Dinner? I'm sure I've got enough rations."
"Love to," Kathryn answered as the turbolift opened. She grasped his hand and gave him a blinding smile. "Ready?"
"Ready," Chakotay replied, and together they stepped off the lift to start the beginning of their new lives.
*~* Finished (finally!) *~*
Tom, who had walked in first, came to a dead halt at the sight of the bodies Captain and Commander on the floor lying intertwined like the lovers they should have been, but never were.
"They're not breathing, and I'm not reading any heart beats!" the Doctor exclaimed, and shot a hasty glance at Tom. "Help me get them to biobeds!" he slightly reprimanded him.
Tom shot into action, gently prying the two apart while Harry and B'Elanna grabbed the stretchers that would transfer the Captain and Commander onto the biobeds without jolting them.
"2 CC of netinaline!" the Doctor ordered.
"Netinaline? That's used for bringing people from the dead!" Tom exclaimed.
"They're close enough, Mr. Paris!" the EMH snapped back in his worry for his patients. "Then set up a hyperencephalogram to record their brain waves. They were down there without oxygen for at least seven minutes."
The rest of the bridge crew could only stand and watch helplessly as the two medical officers walked back and forth between Kathryn and Chakotay, taking continuous scans and injecting both with different dosages of medication.
"I've got a heart beat!" Tom said joyfully. "The brain wave scans are also registering brain activity in the Captain."
The Doctor hurried over. "She's coming around. Give her 2 CC of morphenolog for the pain. What about the Commander?"
Tom shook his head dejectedly. "Nothing yet."
"20 CC hyperzine," the Doctor said hastily, holding out his hand for the hypospray. Injecting Chakotay's neck, he picked up his tricorder again as Tom helped Kathryn to a sitting position.
"Chakotay!" Kathryn nearly went to pieces when she saw the man she had finally admitted that she loved lying motionless.
"It's all right, Captain," Tom attempted to reassure her as she pushed past him to Chakotay's side, grasping one of his limp hands.
"Don't die on me, Chakotay, not now," she implored him, even with the knowledge that there was no way he could hear her.
"It's not working," the Doctor said to himself, absorbed in his work and not knowing the effect of his words.
Kathryn paled noticeable and grasped his hand tighter, her lips moving with unintelligible words, but seeming less panicked.
"Inoprovalene!" the Doctor ordered Tom. "15 CC."
Tom slapped the medication into his waiting palm. After injecting the Commander, the Doctor's face showed no emotion. "Upping to 40 CC," he said as his nimble fingers called up the dosage on the hypospray. "Going to 55 CC," he said a moment later, after nothing happened.
Kathryn bit her lip, waiting for any sign from the Doctor, and listening intently to the tricorder's hum. After finishing his scan, the computer program shut his tricorder slowly, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, Captain. There is nothing more I can do."
She simply looked at him, and when he broke her gaze, she moved them down to look at her second in command, gazing at their entangled hands.
Tom's heart went out to her, standing there like a lost child not knowing what to do. But this was Captain Janeway, the one who had saved all of their lives countless times, who knew exactly what to do.
"Give him 80 CC," she said quietly.
"Captain, its-" the Doctor made an effort to protest, but she cut him off.
"I am still the Captain of this vessel, and that is a direct order that you will obey."
Taking the still filled hypospray back in his hand, the Doctor injected him with the ordered dose. Tom ran his tricorder down the length of Chakotay's unmoving body, then checked the brain scan.
"Wait a minute. . . I think I've got something!" Tom cried elatedly.
Chakotay inhaled deeply, nearly gasping as the high dosage awakened him from his lifeless state. His hand clutched Kathryn's as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but was halted by Tom, the Doctor, and Kathryn, who had flung her arms around him and pushed him back down by kissing him deeply.
Chakotay had no protests, but Tom's eyes nearly bulged from his head at this unexpected twist. After he had regained his senses, Tom smiled widely, glad that the command team had finally gotten the hint. All it had taken was a shuttle accident and lake full of coffee.
Kathryn kissed Chakotay, a kiss that drifted towards new times together, and a sharing of new experiences. It was also a promise of commitment and love, and a dream for a happily ever after.
The two didn't even notice when Tom moved over to the sickbay console and start calling up data on the 'K & C' betting pool. This pool was the largest and most steadily growing of all the bets Tom had running, and it looked like it was about to pay off for someone.
"Commander Chakotay!" Tom said, startling the two and breaking them apart. "You've won the betting pool."
"What?" Chakotay said, still groggy.
"Congratulations, Chakotay," Kathryn said, surprising everyone. "I put in all my bets for a later date."
"Well, it looks like I've got plenty of extra rations now. A cup of coffee?" he asked Kathryn with a slightly roguish grin on his face.
"No thanks! I think I've all the coffee I can handle for one day," Kathryn smiled back at him.
Tom looked startled. "Harry, you won!"
"Won what? I thought the Commander won the betting pool," the young Ensign said, confused.
"Not that betting pool! The betting on the day that Captain Janeway would refuse a cup of coffee." Tom was amazed to see two of his largest betting pools paying on the same day.
"I did?" Harry said in disbelief.
"You sure did, Starfleet," B'Elanna ribbed him. "Come on. You can buy me dinner."
"What about me?" Tom said pitifully as everyone laughed.
"You can come too, I suppose," B'Elanna said with fake distain, then grinned. "Let's go before this Klingon gets hungry enough to eat the two of you!"
"Come on Tuvok, I'll buy you a drink," Harry said, spreading his newfound wealth with everyone.
Tuvok agreed, but Tom suspected it was mainly because he wished to give the Captain and Commander some time to themselves, not because he wanted a drink.
The four officers left to eat and to spread the good new of the command team's recovery while the Doctor finished checking them.
"You're free to go, but you are both to take at least a day off. I'm not asking for anything else, because I know you won't listen to me if I add more time," the Doctor said, having learned that from experience. The couple nodded their agreement, then exited sickbay.
"Let's swing by the bridge for a moment, I'm curious to see who's on duty," Kathryn suggested as they walked into the turbolift.
"Deck one," Chakotay ordered, as they were whisked up to the command center.
The only noise the two could hear when the stepped quietly onto the darkened bridge was light snoring.
Kathryn exchanged a look of incredulity with Chakotay as she gazed over the railing to her Captain's chair below. The young ensign was still snoring away.
"Kamar!" Chakotay said, just loud enough to startle the ensign awake. He turned around to see the ship's two most superior officers regarding him.
"Captain! C - Commander!" he stuttered in aggregation. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's all right, Ensign. I only suggest that you don't let Lt. Commander Tuvok catch you. He's a stickler for the rules, you know." Kathryn could help but smile at the flustered young man as she turned and the two left the bridge.
"Are you sure that was such a good idea, Kathryn? Kamar might fall asleep again." Chakotay said after the doors had shut. "Deck three," he said to the computer as they started descending.
"After that wake up call, I'm not so sure. Besides," she said, pulling him close and whispering in his ear, "we've been relieved of duty, remember?"
"Thank goodness for that," Chakotay said. "Dinner? I'm sure I've got enough rations."
"Love to," Kathryn answered as the turbolift opened. She grasped his hand and gave him a blinding smile. "Ready?"
"Ready," Chakotay replied, and together they stepped off the lift to start the beginning of their new lives.
*~* Finished (finally!) *~*
