A/N: I am trying to get this up as soon as possible…. I have some extra time today, so….. Well… hope you guys still like the story….. Hope I didn't lose about a million readers after the end of the last chapter….. Once again.. Sorry bout the mix-up…. BTW: I will SAY "THE END" when it is the end…… so no more thinking I'm done unless I say so…. Got it….?????
Chapter 20
He lowered her to the ground as fast as he could without dropping her. Then he tried to remember exactly what to do. His heart was pounding against his chest and his brain suddenly went blank. He suddenly felt that everything, including himself, was completely hopeless. His memory was not working and the only things that he could think of involved some kind of hitting, or was it pounding, or was it something else. And there was something about breathing. "Why the hell can't I think of what t' do?" He scolded himself aloud in agitation. He silently cursed himself for not being able to think clearly.
He again wracked his brain for something to do. But after thinking up and dismissing many random thoughts, he found himself at a panicked loss. He couldn't think of what to do. Until suddenly, he didn't really know why, he remembered a poem from college. His roommate had taken anatomy and health classes one quarter, and he'd need to memorize some stuff for an exam. So he'd used these stupid rhymes. At the time, he'd tried everything that he could think of to get the guy to shut up. But now, as he remembered the poem, he silently thanked the guy.
"Once you know,
Go ahead and blow.
Then if there's no beat,
Push the chest and repeat."
As stupid as the little rhyme was, remembering it suddenly relieved him of all panic and he knew exactly what to do. Opening her mouth and tipping her head back gently, he put his mouth down near hers. He blew several quick breaths into her mouth. Then he completed the CPR procedure with several quick thrusts just below her chest. He then leaned down to check whether she was breathing yet. She wasn't. 'Where's the Doc? He should be here by now,' he thought as he gave her more breaths. Even as he was continuing the procedure, he vowed not to let her die like this.
He continued the procedure what seemed like a million times, but each time seemed infinitely more futile. It seemed as if he was doing nothing for her, and he was beginning to wonder if he'd be the cause of her death. It was his fault, after all, for panicking about T'Pol. And since he panicked, he had waited for what seemed like way too long before beginning CPR. But now, it seemed as if he'd been performing CPR for hours, even though it had only been about 45 seconds. As he leaned down to give her more air again, he hoped, as he had every time, that this attempt would be successful… that she would come back to life and he would be able to apologize to her.
This attempt, however, was no more successful than those before it, and he once again continued as his mind wandered back to how this could have been avoided. He could have kept his big mouth shut in the first place and instead just listened to everything that she had to say. But no; he'd had to argue with her again.
But now, several more seconds and several failed attempts to wake her had passed, and he was once again trying to breathe into her lungs. He was ready to thrust again when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He pulled back, hoping beyond hope that he'd seen what he thought he had.
He looked on as she gasped for air. She was breathing! He looked up, hoping that someone was up there listening. "Thank you!" he said aloud. He reached down to pick her up, noting that she was still very limp, and lifted her into a sitting position. She opened her eyes weakly and stared into his eyes. He stared back, noting that she still looked a universe away and was still having trouble breathing. But at the same time, she looked closer and stronger than she had just several minutes earlier.
He brought her closer to him and put his arms around her, realizing that she was trembling slightly, but also wanting to comfort her and make sure that he could hear her gently heartbeat for fear of losing her again. He was also relieved that, although she was no longer directly in front of him, she never lost eye contact. He realized that she was probably doing it unintentionally, but it still comforted him knowing that she was still conscious-- and still alive.
As he gazed into her unblinking eyes, he began to wonder what was going on. Why she'd been in that storage closet in the first place. And how she'd managed to become seriously wounded while inside. She had mentioned Vulcans, but he knew that she had most likely said it only due to her current state of mind. She had been drifting out of consciousness at the time, after all. She would have no reason to hide form the Vulcans on the ship anyway. They didn't know anything about her pregnancy. And as she had repeated many times, Vulcans don't snoop. So he was only left with the same original question: what was really going on?
He was brought back to reality by T'Pol's weak voice. "I-" she attempted.
"What d' ya need?" he asked her.
"Help…m-" she managed.
"With what? What d' ya need me t' help you with?"
There was a pause as she breathed in as much air as she could. "Help…" she repeated. It seemed that even that one word exhausted her, and she again had to catch her breath.
He realized then and there that she was helpless for probably the first time since, well, childhood. And she knew it too. She knew that he was the only one who could help her until Phlox arrived.
Again, Trip's mind wandered and he wondered where Doctor Phlox was, and why he was taking so long. He looked at a clock, realizing that it had only been about three minutes since he had contacted the Doctor. It had seemed like hours.
He was glad that T'Pol, at least, did not know that Phlox was taking too long. In her current mental state, he didn't know how she would react to that knowledge. He certainly didn't want to make her worry. Normally, he knew, she never worried about anything. But at that moment… well, only time would tell.
He felt her begin trembling again and he pulled her closer, wanting to keep safe and secure as much as possible. "Don't worry," he told her reassuringly. "Doctor Phlox is on 'is way. He'll be here soon."
She didn't seem to register this at first. However, after a moment she visibly relaxed, leaving him to the task of holding her upright. When he realized this, he gripped her more tightly, pulling her in closer and hoping that she wouldn't resist and cause herself more stress. Fortunately, she didn't. Instead of resisting, she actually relaxed further, and he again increased his grip in return.
He was glad that she wasn't wasting any energy resisting his hold on her, but hoped that she wouldn't become so relaxed that she slipped into unconsciousness again. Fortunately, that didn't seem to be happening either, and he allowed her to relax once again. He was going to increase hi hold again but decided against it. He was comfortable now, and she seemed to be as well.
He didn't really know why he was so comfortable. Normally he would have been extremely uncomfortable in this situation. He was sweaty from stress and covered in her blood. She had nearly died, and he had barely been able to save her. He should have been more stressed and worried. Somehow, though, he wasn't. He didn't even know why. Perhaps since he had saved her life, albeit barely, and she was now looking to him for comfort and support, he was subconsciously allowing himself to- 'No, it couldn't be that,' he thought, cutting off his own thoughts. He wouldn't let himself consider that. Not with her. She was a Vulcan and would never do the same.
But at least she would not leave him this time, and he found comfort in that. He relaxed again, not losing grip of her, and continued to gaze into her oh-so-far-away eyes. And he found that they weren't so far away.
A/N2: See???? I already added a bit of shippy… hey… give me a break… it's HARD to add shippy when one of the people involved is half-conscious….. Let alone when they were basically dead at the end of the last chappy…… anyway, there is more shippiness to come later…. Don't you fear……
A/N3: ok, people…. So, does NO ONE believe in reviewing anymore (or does my story just suck now)…… please tell me……. If it sucks, please tell me what to change and I'll try to change it….. Just review or I will never know what you people want…..
Chapter 20
He lowered her to the ground as fast as he could without dropping her. Then he tried to remember exactly what to do. His heart was pounding against his chest and his brain suddenly went blank. He suddenly felt that everything, including himself, was completely hopeless. His memory was not working and the only things that he could think of involved some kind of hitting, or was it pounding, or was it something else. And there was something about breathing. "Why the hell can't I think of what t' do?" He scolded himself aloud in agitation. He silently cursed himself for not being able to think clearly.
He again wracked his brain for something to do. But after thinking up and dismissing many random thoughts, he found himself at a panicked loss. He couldn't think of what to do. Until suddenly, he didn't really know why, he remembered a poem from college. His roommate had taken anatomy and health classes one quarter, and he'd need to memorize some stuff for an exam. So he'd used these stupid rhymes. At the time, he'd tried everything that he could think of to get the guy to shut up. But now, as he remembered the poem, he silently thanked the guy.
"Once you know,
Go ahead and blow.
Then if there's no beat,
Push the chest and repeat."
As stupid as the little rhyme was, remembering it suddenly relieved him of all panic and he knew exactly what to do. Opening her mouth and tipping her head back gently, he put his mouth down near hers. He blew several quick breaths into her mouth. Then he completed the CPR procedure with several quick thrusts just below her chest. He then leaned down to check whether she was breathing yet. She wasn't. 'Where's the Doc? He should be here by now,' he thought as he gave her more breaths. Even as he was continuing the procedure, he vowed not to let her die like this.
He continued the procedure what seemed like a million times, but each time seemed infinitely more futile. It seemed as if he was doing nothing for her, and he was beginning to wonder if he'd be the cause of her death. It was his fault, after all, for panicking about T'Pol. And since he panicked, he had waited for what seemed like way too long before beginning CPR. But now, it seemed as if he'd been performing CPR for hours, even though it had only been about 45 seconds. As he leaned down to give her more air again, he hoped, as he had every time, that this attempt would be successful… that she would come back to life and he would be able to apologize to her.
This attempt, however, was no more successful than those before it, and he once again continued as his mind wandered back to how this could have been avoided. He could have kept his big mouth shut in the first place and instead just listened to everything that she had to say. But no; he'd had to argue with her again.
But now, several more seconds and several failed attempts to wake her had passed, and he was once again trying to breathe into her lungs. He was ready to thrust again when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He pulled back, hoping beyond hope that he'd seen what he thought he had.
He looked on as she gasped for air. She was breathing! He looked up, hoping that someone was up there listening. "Thank you!" he said aloud. He reached down to pick her up, noting that she was still very limp, and lifted her into a sitting position. She opened her eyes weakly and stared into his eyes. He stared back, noting that she still looked a universe away and was still having trouble breathing. But at the same time, she looked closer and stronger than she had just several minutes earlier.
He brought her closer to him and put his arms around her, realizing that she was trembling slightly, but also wanting to comfort her and make sure that he could hear her gently heartbeat for fear of losing her again. He was also relieved that, although she was no longer directly in front of him, she never lost eye contact. He realized that she was probably doing it unintentionally, but it still comforted him knowing that she was still conscious-- and still alive.
As he gazed into her unblinking eyes, he began to wonder what was going on. Why she'd been in that storage closet in the first place. And how she'd managed to become seriously wounded while inside. She had mentioned Vulcans, but he knew that she had most likely said it only due to her current state of mind. She had been drifting out of consciousness at the time, after all. She would have no reason to hide form the Vulcans on the ship anyway. They didn't know anything about her pregnancy. And as she had repeated many times, Vulcans don't snoop. So he was only left with the same original question: what was really going on?
He was brought back to reality by T'Pol's weak voice. "I-" she attempted.
"What d' ya need?" he asked her.
"Help…m-" she managed.
"With what? What d' ya need me t' help you with?"
There was a pause as she breathed in as much air as she could. "Help…" she repeated. It seemed that even that one word exhausted her, and she again had to catch her breath.
He realized then and there that she was helpless for probably the first time since, well, childhood. And she knew it too. She knew that he was the only one who could help her until Phlox arrived.
Again, Trip's mind wandered and he wondered where Doctor Phlox was, and why he was taking so long. He looked at a clock, realizing that it had only been about three minutes since he had contacted the Doctor. It had seemed like hours.
He was glad that T'Pol, at least, did not know that Phlox was taking too long. In her current mental state, he didn't know how she would react to that knowledge. He certainly didn't want to make her worry. Normally, he knew, she never worried about anything. But at that moment… well, only time would tell.
He felt her begin trembling again and he pulled her closer, wanting to keep safe and secure as much as possible. "Don't worry," he told her reassuringly. "Doctor Phlox is on 'is way. He'll be here soon."
She didn't seem to register this at first. However, after a moment she visibly relaxed, leaving him to the task of holding her upright. When he realized this, he gripped her more tightly, pulling her in closer and hoping that she wouldn't resist and cause herself more stress. Fortunately, she didn't. Instead of resisting, she actually relaxed further, and he again increased his grip in return.
He was glad that she wasn't wasting any energy resisting his hold on her, but hoped that she wouldn't become so relaxed that she slipped into unconsciousness again. Fortunately, that didn't seem to be happening either, and he allowed her to relax once again. He was going to increase hi hold again but decided against it. He was comfortable now, and she seemed to be as well.
He didn't really know why he was so comfortable. Normally he would have been extremely uncomfortable in this situation. He was sweaty from stress and covered in her blood. She had nearly died, and he had barely been able to save her. He should have been more stressed and worried. Somehow, though, he wasn't. He didn't even know why. Perhaps since he had saved her life, albeit barely, and she was now looking to him for comfort and support, he was subconsciously allowing himself to- 'No, it couldn't be that,' he thought, cutting off his own thoughts. He wouldn't let himself consider that. Not with her. She was a Vulcan and would never do the same.
But at least she would not leave him this time, and he found comfort in that. He relaxed again, not losing grip of her, and continued to gaze into her oh-so-far-away eyes. And he found that they weren't so far away.
A/N2: See???? I already added a bit of shippy… hey… give me a break… it's HARD to add shippy when one of the people involved is half-conscious….. Let alone when they were basically dead at the end of the last chappy…… anyway, there is more shippiness to come later…. Don't you fear……
A/N3: ok, people…. So, does NO ONE believe in reviewing anymore (or does my story just suck now)…… please tell me……. If it sucks, please tell me what to change and I'll try to change it….. Just review or I will never know what you people want…..