Chapt. 21

Heavily coughing Deanna tried to get rid of some of the smoke that had entered her lungs. Of course it only made matters worse, but it was a natural reaction. The faint lives she'd sensed her earlier had died, she'd felt them slip from her mind only seconds after the initial explosion in the station's power source.

When she managed to hold her breath and stay quiet for a moment she heard faint coughing a few yards away from her. It was Lieutenant Davies she realized, the man had been standing a few feet away from Beverly when the explosion occurred. Deanna had been able to push Crusher away, but she hadn't been fast enough to push the Lieutenant away as well.

"Frank?" she called, hoping the man was strong enough to answer her. Her senses told her he was in a lot of pain and she was quite certain that if help didn't come soon he would die. But when she tried to move towards him she found that a bulkhead had quite effectively –and painfully—pinned her against the floor and that her right shoulder was dislocated. Bending her left arm in an uneasy angle she managed to activate her commbadge, only to hear an off-key tone that told her the communications device had been damaged.

Realizing there was nothing more she could do, Deanna closed her eyes and focussed on her breathing, murmuring encouragement to Frank Davies in the mean time.

She knew her injuries weren't life threatening and all she had to worry about was being rescued before the air around her became toxic or too dense with smoke to breath, yet she was scared almost to the point of panic.

And angry she realized scarcely two seconds later.

Angry that fate always conspired against her and Will.

Angry that just when she had prepared the perfect night for herself and her Imzadi to consummate their bond, she was lying in a deserted, God forsaken science station, pinned to the floor and with a layer of ash and dust over her.

"C--coun—counselor?" Deanna narrowed her eyes in an attempt to lock them onto the Lieutenant, but the smoke around her had grown too thick.

"Yes Frank." She called instead, making her sure her tone was calm and confident, even though she could tell the young man was dying.

"Please, t-tell Kate I lo-love her."

"I will." Deanna returned in a quivering voice. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut but couldn't help a tear from escaping as she felt the security officer's soul slip away. But she couldn't allow herself to grieve for him, not yet, not until she was safely back onboard the Enterprise.

In the safe haven of Will Riker's strong arms.

Another coughing fit overcame her, this time interrupted by sneezes that wracked her body and caused flames of pain to leap across her legs and arm. Her eyes watered from the smoke around her and coughing only seemed to make it worse.

WHY did this have to happen to her?!

She sneezed again, crying out when the jerking of her body pulled at her legs, causing skin and bone to scrape against the bulkhead that had fallen across her shins.

~Will!~