(Day 3)

Julian had forced himself to come to his senses after furiously swiping away the couple of tears that had tracked down his face. He was not going to give Garak the satisfaction of seeing just how much his words had hurt. He knew that the Cardassian already thought of him as young, naive, and sentimental to a fault. Julian wished that he had developed a thicker skin. His everyday existence would be much easier if his brain wasn't always meticulously logging all the negative comments he received, ready to be recalled with perfect accuracy at the most inopportune moments. That speech of Garak's would be committed to memory and given pride of place, he was sure of it.

In all honesty, it wasn't Garak's fault that Julian's feelings weren't returned. Garak had never indicated that there was anything between them and this was hardly the first time that he had found himself in this situation. He knew the drill. What was his problem? Julian knew that he wore his heart on his sleeve and cared deeply for the people that were important in his life. Where he seemed to get into trouble was in telling the difference between his closest friends and those open to pursuing a more romantic relationship. Julian often unwittingly found himself reading too much into what were, presumably, perfectly platonic friendships like the one he had cultivated with Garak. Or was that yet another assumption on his part? Were they even friends? Or was he simply a casual acquaintance who Garak occasionally met for lunch? He wouldn't even know where to begin, it was all so needlessly complicated. Puzzles within puzzles, the details always out of reach. Scattered like crumbs all over the table they regularly shared. Garak always knew how to turn a phrase.

Shivering, Julian forced down a cold ration pack. He wished it tasted sweeter so he could pretend it was some sort of frozen dessert. Fantasising about homemade ice cream wasn't his brightest idea and it caused him to shudder even more violently. As he sat there, Julian reminded himself of Garak's remarks from yesterday and fetched his phaser to warm up some water. He heated enough to make a cup of instant coffee from his emergency supply. The lower level of oxygen in the air was starting to have a noticeable effect and the caffeine could be useful to combat that. Or, at least, the drink should reduce the chance of him passing out. There were enough sachets to last him and Garak throughout the day which was a stroke of good luck. Whoever had re-stocked the emergency medical kit last had obviously been a coffee fan. It wasn't a Raktajino, but it would have to do.

After an hour, Julian was still sitting alone in the living room. He was definitely not sulking, even though Garak was selfishly hogging all of their heated stones. The Cardassian had presumably rewarmed them to keep the temperature in the bedroom reasonable enough so that he wouldn't need to be around him. He couldn't really blame Garak for needing his space, Julian knew what he was like. The current conditions seemed to be exacerbating all his worst traits. Also, Julian reminded himself, Garak tended to lash out when he was feeling particularly vulnerable. Both of them weren't exactly at their best right now, and things between them were bound to become a little strained eventually. Deciding that he wanted to resolve things, Julian headed sheepishly back through the doorway to face his friend. He was fully expecting Garak to continue his sharply worded assault and braced himself accordingly.

What he hadn't expected to find was a dark, cold, and eerily silent bedroom. Garak clearly hadn't reheated anything. Where was he? Feeling his heart stop in his chest, Julian spotted Garak's prone form lying awkwardly across the bed. His skin was unnaturally pale, and his breathing was shallow and irregular. Jumping into action, Julian raced to his side and started frantically checking him over. He was upset to discover just how cold he had become in his absence. Please Garak, don't do this! Oh, if only he hadn't been such an arrogant arse that morning. He should have spotted that Garak wasn't himself and was out of sorts. What use were his so-called enhanced deductive skills and processing abilities, if he couldn't utilise them in time!?

Julian lay Garak back on the bed into a more comfortable position, propping him upright with several pillows. As a temporary fix, he gathered all the blankets within reach and folded them around Garak's lower body. He didn't want to restrict Garak's diaphragm or hamper his already compromised breathing. Rushing to the sideboard, he used his phaser to warm through the heated rocks they had been using yesterday to try to negate the freezing atmosphere of the room.

As Julian ran his tricorder over Garak, he was horrified to find that his efforts hadn't done anything to raise the Cardassian's body temperature. Shit. Shit. Shit! He could try to get Garak into some warm water? But, without transporters that wasn't a feasible option and Garak didn't have a bathtub in his quarters. If he was going to improve Garak's condition, he needed to ensure that his torso and vital organs were thawed in as gentle a way as possible to prevent shock or, heaven forbid, heart failure. Biting his lip, Julian put away his misgivings and resolved that there was only one course of action left open to him. He would happily argue with Garak about the mechanics of it later, once his friend had re-joined him in the land of the living.

Climbing into the bed next to Garak, Julian took care to gently remove Garak's top layers and thermal undershirt before hurriedly throwing his own garments onto the floor. Skin to skin contact was the easiest and quickest way to reverse the cooling effect. Ideally, they would need to be fully undressed but he was sure they'd both rather try it this way first. Julian grabbed the nearest blanket and slung it around his shoulders, with a mind to cover them both up with it once they were settled.

Julian moved the pillows and manoeuvred himself to sit just behind Garak. Now able to take Garak's weight, he pulled the unconscious Cardassian closer so that his back leant completely against his bare chest. Once they were stable, he hooked both legs to fully cradle Garak in his lap. They needed as many points of contact as possible for this to be effective. Julian brought his arms up to loosely wrap around his patient, ensuring that Garak's own arms were snugly crossed and held tight to his body. Finally, he tilted his head forward to touch Garak's temple with his cheek and hoped against hope that this would work. Admittedly, it was all educated guesswork at this point.

Julian didn't know how long he sat there, entirely focused on the task at hand. He was caught up in a loop. Repetitively going from rubbing Garak's chest for a count of 2 minutes, leaning against him for 10 minutes to allow for heat permeation, scanning him with the tricorder, then noting and monitoring all fluctuations and changes, before methodically starting the whole cycle again.

Eventually, there was light at the end of the tunnel; Garak's breathing had started to ease, and his core temperature had finally increased by a couple of degrees. Julian almost wept with relief. Left alone with his thoughts in the silence of the room, he had been envisioning the worst-case scenarios. The one he'd settled on was having to fashion a stretcher out of their bedding to drag Garak's lifeless body through the station, hoping there was still time to reach the escape pod to Bajor and get him treated before he was completely beyond help. If it had come to that, Julian would never have forgiven himself for not intervening sooner. He couldn't lose Garak. Even if their last argument marked the end of their friendship, Julian could be satisfied in the knowledge that the Tailor was at least safe and well. That would have to be enough.

- - -.

Over the next couple of hours, Julian tended to Garak as best he could. Now that Garak's temperature was improving, he was able to begin the process of warming up his arms without the risk of cold blood rushing to his heart, lungs, and brain. There were a few moments when Garak verged on consciousness, but he wasn't responsive or particularly cogent. It was during one of these occasions that Julian was able to coax him to ingest a few precious sips of warm tea before he dropped back off. Admittedly, it was still very slow going but Garak was making steady progress and seemed to be stabilising. His colour had started to return, and he had begun to shift a little in his sleep.

Julian took the combination of these signals as a sign that he should take a step back, this was about Garak's health and not his own guilt negation. He moved Garak into a more natural sleeping position before covering him up with one of the heated blankets. Julian distractedly pulled his undershirt back on and resolved to remain close by, Garak still needed monitoring and he was reluctant to let him out of his sight. Deciding to continue prioritising Garak's upper body, he climbed on top of the blankets to lie beside his friend and placed an arm lightly around Garak's trunk. Able to relax for the first time in hours, Julian thought he could risk closing his eyes for a few minutes and allowed his forehead to join his arm in momentarily resting against Garak. That had been the plan anyway.