Malcolm roared in anguish and thumbed up the control of his phase pistol, killing the Raider instantly who had felled his Captain . It was only a few seconds but felt like forever before Malcolm reached the fallen man. He skidded onto his knees beside him and felt for a pulse, quietly chanting, "Please be alive, please be alive." He found a faint flutter was almost light headed with relief.

            He didn't notice T'pol kneeling beside him, talking on her communicator. He was using a cloth from one of the women and trying to staunch the blood that seemed to be everywhere.

            "Don't do this to me Captain. If you die Buffy will kill me." He muttered desperately. T'pol handed him another cloth and he applied more pressure to try and stop the infernal bleeding.

 "The Doctor will be here shortly Lieutenant." T'pol said in a reassuring manner.

            "I should have stayed closer. I shouldn't have let him go so far." Malcolm whispered but T'pol's sharp hearing worked just fine.

            "Do not blame yourself Lt. Reed. You could not have predicted this outcome." She said firmly but Malcolm could only see his Captain's blood on his hands.

            Buffy was teaching a Tai chi class when Hoshi appeared at the door. "Buffy, something.." she swallowed, "something happened."

            Buffy went white. "The Captain?" 

            Hoshi nodded, "Injured. Dr. Phlox actually took the matter transporter down to the planet. Trip is already away in the shuttle." She watched Buffy close her eyes and nod.

            "Ok class, time to call it quits for today." The crew murmured reassurances as they left and Hoshi watched Buffy anxiously.

            "Are you going to be ok?"

            Buffy nodded, "He's not dead. That's all that matters." Buffy was firm, even if her heart quivered. Hoshi nodded and left her friend reluctantly. Buffy went to her quarters and called sickbay, "Sickbay." Came Ensign Cutler's voice.

            "Liz? It's Buffy. Can you call me when the shuttle is about to arrive?"

            "Sure. Dr. Phlox says it's about 27 minutes out." Buffy sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Thanks Liz, see you."

            Buffy grabbed a shower and ran to the launch bay to pace distractedly. She heard the distinct thump of the shuttle docking and waited for the green light that signaled pressure equalized.

            She pressed the door and watched Trip jump out, taking the other end of a stretcher. Buffy could see Jon's pale, pale face and her heart lurched in fear. Trip looked over and grimaced, "Mal, she's waitin'." He said and Malcolm nodded grimly and took the other end of the stretcher, bringing it the rest of the way out of the shuttle.

            Buffy walked in, her eyes on Jon. She reached the stretcher and looked at Malcolm, "Are you ok? You or T'pol weren't hurt?" she asked in concern and he shook his head miserably.

 The Doctor clucked, ""Let's get him to sickbay." He looked at Buffy, "It's serious, but I'm confident that we can stop the bleeding." Buffy nodded and followed them to sickbay.

            Malcolm had fled sickbay, not wanting to face the accusations he believed would be in Buffy's eyes. He had showered and was sitting in his quarters, beating himself up mentally. He should have never left the Captain's side.

            Buffy was sitting outside sickbay with Trip. He had put a hesitant arm around his former lover, fully expecting to be knocked on his ass, but she leaned against him, grateful for the comfort. Suddenly her head came up, "Mal said he was getting cleaned up! That rat!"

She stood and Trip looked up at her in alarm, "Buffy, it wasn't his fault."

She looked at him like he was crazy, "I know that! I'll bet he took a shower and he's brooding, thinking it was his fault. Men!" she said exasperated and headed toward crew quarters.

            Malcolm's head came up in shock at the bang on his door like someone kicked it and Buffy's voice, "Malcolm Reed, open this door!"  He walked over to it and opened it, then opened his mouth for an excuse when he was suddenly wrapped in a hug. Buffy's head was on his chest, her voice muffled, "Stupid man, it's not your fault."

            Malcolm gave in and sighed heavily, resting his head on her shoulder. He didn't cry, too British for that but he did receive enormous comfort from his friend and that was better. They walked silently back to sickbay and as soon as they arrived Ensign Cutler walked out, "Dr. Phlox says you can see him now."

            They walked in and saw him on the bio bed, chest naked except for bandages. His lower body was covered by a blanket. Dr. Phlox looked at them and smiled, " The spear missed all of his vital organs. He lost a lot of blood but I was able to use some of Buffy's since they have the same blood type and he is stable. He'll no doubt be up and commanding in a week."

            Buffy tuned out the doctor and lay a gentle hand on Jon's face, smiling to feel his whiskers. Trip saw the look on her face and sighed, she had never looked at him with that expression. He shook himself and looked at Malcolm, "You stay here. I'll tell the crew and T'pol."

            Malcolm nodded and went to stand on the other side of the Captain. "I'm sorry Buffy." He whispered.

            Buffy looked at Dr. Phlox and rolled her eyes, "Men. So typical. They think they're psychic or something." Dr. Phlox laughed heartily at this and looked up to check on the Captain's bio signs.

            "Well, well." He said and Buffy gasped, "What?"

Dr. Phlox smiled, "See these indicators? Here and here." She nodded and he smiled, "They are going up more quickly than I expected. That's good!" He smiled and Buffy relaxed.

She suddenly remembered a snippet of the conversation from before, "Did you say you used my blood?"

He nodded, "Indeed! The Captain is my first experiment and he is doing better than my expectations."

            Buffy took Jon's hand, "He can have all of my blood if it would help."

            "That will not be necessary. Lt. Reed, why don't you get Buffy a seat. I believe that she'll be here for awhile."  Malcolm scrambled to get the chair, placing it beside the Captain.

 Buffy smiled, "Thanks Mal. Go get some rest."

            Buffy held Jon's hand and thought about all of the hospitals she had been in or just visited. 'It was too many, that's for sure.' Her eyes roamed his handsome face, lax in sleep. She had a lot of questions for the Powers that Be.

            His hand clenched and Buffy sat up, "Jon?"

            "Buffy?" was his first word.

 "Yeah Babe, it's me." He struggled to open his eyes and Buffy stood so that he would see her.

            Jon opened up his eyes to see what he wanted most. "Sorry." he whispered and she shook her beautiful head at him, "Don't be stupid. You'll make it up to me later."

            He smiled, "It's a date."

The Doctor bustled over to use a hypo spray. "Ah awake already are we. Good. You were stabbed with a metal spear. It missed everything by a miracle. You'll be back on the bridge in a week."

            Jon grimaced, "I need to talk to T'pol."

Buffy nodded, "I'll get her." she kissed his lips gently and walked out.

The Doctor looked at the door, "We could have used the com system." He said, confusion on his face.

 Jon chuckled. "She wants to cry. She'll be alright."

            Buffy sat in the hallway and cried in relief for a minute, then wiped her face and went to get T'pol.