Four pairs of ears heard the pained scream tear from Lexxi's cabin and echo through the corridor; one pair was pointed.  Four figures rushed to the door.  Mr. Spock took command and pushed through two security officers and a passing yeoman to override the lock and dash through the doorway.  He quickly analyzed the room, assessing the situation.  The pounding water led him to the bathroom and the shower.

Grabbing a large towel embroidered with the Starfleet insignia, Spock knelt by Lexxi's still form.  He ignored the steam clouding in the small, enclosed space and the streams of hot water running into his eyes and gently wrapped the towel around her gray-blue body.  Looking back at the crowd that had gathered around the outside door, he stood.  "Get the medics down here," he commanded crisply.  Several men jumped at the sound of his voice.

Spock once more knelt beside Lexxi, studying the blistered flesh on her back.  Closing his eyes, he slowly placed his long, slender fingers on her burning cheek, radiating calm and control to her frenzied mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lexxi never felt the impact of the shower floor.  She just kept falling and falling.  Surrounded but thick, suffocating blackness and intense heat, there was nothing to see, nothing to grab on to.  Her ears crackled like communicator interference, her mind raced and got nowhere.  Perfect.

Suddenly, Lexxi became aware of a cool streak of clam flowing through the pain.  It grew and enveloped her, easing the pain.  She knew what was happening and fought it.  There was no link, no two-way street.  Only calm.  She fought to forbid this, to order him to stop.  But she kept falling, blind and powerless.  Falling and unable to resist the healing calm holder her.  Falling…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doctor McCoy arrived with two nurses and a gurney.  He walked in on Spock, his hands pressed to Lexxi's face, his own face slightly twisted in concentration, pounding water distorting the doctor's view.

"Good lord!" McCoy exclaimed, turning off the water and rushing to kneel next to Spock.  "What the hell happened in here?  Stop that!"  As the Vulcan took his hands away, McCoy pulled out his scanner, waving it in the air over Lexxi's still form.  "My god, she's stable.  That's a good thing.  I'm going to have a hell of a time coaxing her to heal all over again!"  The doctor lifted the light and limp girl and placed her on the gurney on her front.  "Take her to sickbay," he told the nurses, as if there were anywhere else to take her, "tell Christine to give her some painkillers and start redressing her back.  She should wake up soon."

Both Spock and McCoy stared intently as the nurses left with the gurney and Lexxi on it.  The doctor turned abruptly on the Vulcan and looked him over.  Spock was shivering a trying her to keep his teeth from chattering.  "Damnit, Spock," McCoy began, "look at you!  You're dripping wet and it's damn near freezing in hear!  How did all this happen?"  They left the icy cabin and began to walk to sickbay.

"I am unsure, doctor, I had left the room earlier.  From what I was able to see, it appeared that the water was too hot, reopened her wounds and put her into shock."

"I know that, Spock," McCoy replied, "I'm the doctor.  How?"

"As I said before, I am unsure.  I had left.  I can only speculate."

Then speculate!"

"I could be incorrect."

"So?" McCoy challenged, eyeing him defiantly.  "You could be right!"

Spock would have sighed, but Vulcan's didn't sigh.  "During our conversation, Lieutenant Montgomery raised the climate in the room.  She became uncomfortable and overheated."

"That makes no sense!  Why didn't you stop her?"

"She insisted.  I assume that after my departure she lowered the temperature to suit her."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

Spock came close to sounding exasperated.  Close, but no cigar.  "I cannot think of a logical reason for the temperature setting of the water."

"I can," McCoy put in, "Only it's not logical."  He looked at the Vulcan triumphantly.  "Lexxi has the ability to change herself.  Strangest thing I've seen in a while.  Instead of having your problem with the climate not suiting her, she would normally changer herself to suit the climate."

"Fascinating."

"Damn right.  Normally.  She hasn't regained enough strength to do that yet.  She probably forgot."

Spock nodded slightly, though he held some reservations about this conclusion.  They had reached sickbay, and he follow McCoy through the door.