Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Enterprise, and neither do you…
Chapter Eight
The first thing he became aware of was the warmth. There was a blanket over him. The second thing was the fact that there was air, and he could breath. Third: he was dry. Then he lost count as a voice called out to him.
"Captain?"
Slowly, he managed to open his eyes, squinting in the bright lights of what could only be the Enterprise sickbay. Carefully, he managed to sit up. There was a deep ache in his chest, but it was nothing compared to the sensation of drowning. Next to the bed, Dr. Phlox was smiling slightly.
"Welcome back, Captain," he said, warmly, "how do you feel?"
"Much better, no doubt thanks to you," he replied, gratefully, "Hoshi and Malcolm…where are they? Are they…?"
"They're both here, and they'll both make full recoveries," Phlox told him, reassuringly, "no doubt Commander T'Pol with inform you of the details of your rescue. Ensign Sato regained consciousness earlier, but is resting now. I removed a bullet from Lt. Reed's shoulder – he did develop a rather nasty infection, but I have some maggots that will take care of that…you all suffered the effects of drowning, hypothermia and shock…I do recommend you rest a while."
"What about the aliens?"
"They're fine, captain…now please, lie back down…"
The next morning, Archer and Hoshi were released. Reed had still not regained consciousness. Hoshi disappeared to her quarters for some well-earned rest, as Archer met T'Pol. He had showered and dressed in a clean uniform, and, in spite of a continued ache in his lungs, he felt great.
"How did you do it?" he asked, as they walked to the bridge, "Nice timing, by the way."
"Thank you," she replied, coolly, "it was Commander Tucker's idea. He andEnsign Mayweather flew a shuttlepod below the level of the electrical storm. Their receivers amplified your signals and we were able to get a transporter lock. We did not realise that the ship had sunk below the water, but the storms interfered with our sensors and hampered the shuttlepod. Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather were fortunate not to crash themselves."
"Remind me to thank them. What about our guests?"
"They contacted one of their sister ships. We rendezvoused yesterday and transferred them aboard. We were asked if we wanted to join them for dinner, but I thought it best to decline."
"Agreed. We would have been the main course."
"Captain?"
"I'll explain later. Let's get to the bridge."
The next morning, Archer found himself sitting in the mess hall, enjoying a coffee with Trip. He chest was feeling much better, and the scratches on his arm were healing nicely.
"That Ginger one was an engineer," Trip was saying, enthusiastically, "I've never seen anyone more impressed by a warp five engine. The absolute maximum of their vessels is warp two!"
"Makes me wonder why they'd want to take on the Klingons," Archer agreed, "though I doubt they had much choice, knowing the Klingons."
"Amen to that," Trip nodded, sipping his coffee as the doors to the mess hall opened, and a familiar figure entered.
"Malcolm!" Archer called, "Over here!"
The lieutenant grabbed a drink from the dispenser, and joined them.
"Captain," he said, quietly, "Commander."
"Welcome back to the land of the living, lieutenant," Archer smiled, "how are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you, sir," Reed replied.
His left arm was bound in a tight sling and he still looked pale, but Archer grinned nonetheless.
"No more trips to water planets, I promise," he said, lightly, "maybe a few days peace and quiet would be nice."
"Sounds good to me," Trip agreed, in a heartfelt way, "Shuttlepod one got one helluva beating in that storm – I could use the time to repair it."
Suddenly, a chime sounded through the mess hall.
"Captain Archer and all senior officers to the bridge!"
"So much for that idea…"
FINIS
A/N: That's it, folks. Story's over. Go back to your homes, there's nothing to see here…please let me know what you thought, let me know how to improve…better yet, leave me a challenge to write for my next fic. You never know, I might just inflict more of these on you. Take care now. I'll be back in a few days (God willing)...Bye…!