Three Days Too Die
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek: Enterprise or any of their characters.
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read my story, reviews are appreciated. Also, I apologize for any misspelled words or grammatical errors. Now, enjoy!
The ship continued to lurch as it absorbed the blasts from the oncoming attack. The gravity kept going in and out with the power. The door was still malfunctioning, Archer had tried several more times to open it, none of which resulted in the desired effect.
T'Pol was keeping a watchful eye on Trip, whose condition seemed to only be deteriorating. Thirty minutes had passed and comms were still down. "How's he doing, T'Pol?" Archer asked, finally settling back into the chair near the desk, which he had been holding onto when the artificial gravity acted up.
"He is still running a fever, in fact, it appears that his fever has risen. The scratches on his arms and chest appear to be infected. His head wound is no longer bleeding, but I believe that he will not regain consciousness for a while yet, Captain." T'Pol responded from her place on the edge of Trip's bed. She had remained there, holding onto him when the artificial gravity went out and making sure that he wasn't further injured when it suddenly came on again.
"I'm gonna see if I can pry one of these vents open. They're small, though, so you'll have to be the one to crawl through. Can you do it?" Archer asked T'Pol as he carefully moved over to one of the vents, keeping a hand on the desk in case the gravity acted up again.
"Yes Captain, I can try. But be mindful of your arm, I don't need to have another incapacitated man on my hands." T'Pol warned. Archer gave a small laugh, "Don't worry T'Pol, my arm feels great."
T'Pol could tell by the look on his face that he was lying and she just shook her head. Sitting beside the air vent Archer took a small flat object and began working the screws loose. He sat there for fifteen minutes while T'Pol continued to keep an eye on Trip's condition.
Thirty minutes later T'Pol noticed Trip moving his arm restlessly and slowly moving his head back and forth. "Captain, he's coming to." T'Pol said as she moved closer to Trip, gently wiping at his forehead with a wet cloth. "Trip…Trip can you hear me?" Archer asked anxiously as he rushed to the bed from where he'd been working on the vent.
Trip restlessly tossed his head back and forth, responsive to Archer's voice, but not conscious. "Trip, I need you to wake up," Archer said urgently, glancing at T'Pol as he again attempted to assess Trip's condition.
After a few more minutes Trip's eyelids fluttered and he moaned groggily. "C-capt'n?" He finally managed to get past his unbelievably dry throat. He was burning up and he knew that the fever was clouding his mind, confusing reality and unreality.
He couldn't tell if Archer was really there or not, also, he'd thought that he had heard T'Pol, but wouldn't she still be in Sickbay? Again he moaned, moving his head back and forth in an agitated manner.
Archer was tormented as he watched his friend's fevered mind fight for clarity. "It's okay Trip, T'Pol and I are gonna take care of you. Do you know what happened?" Archer carefully examined one of the many scratches on Trip's arm.
"I-I'm not sure…" Trip replied breathlessly, his expression one of confusion mixed with pain. Suddenly Trip cried out, jerking his arm away from Archer, who had accidentally touched it. The rough movement caused his head to pound harder and his ribs to scream at him, almost causing him to blackout.
T'Pol glared at Archer as she gently placed her hand on the side of Trip's face. "Breathe Trip, he didn't mean too, just breathe." Archer watched in amazement as Trip obeyed T'Pol, taking a labored breath.
There was something between them that he hadn't noticed before. "Trip, didn't Phlox give you something to put on those scratches?" T'Pol asked, her brow slightly furrowed. "I t-think he d-did…" Trip said, managing to fight back the encroaching darkness.
"Where did you put it?" Archer had never seen T'Pol be so gentle or caring. "I set i-it on t-the d-desk…I t-think." Trip said, shutting his eyes as T'Pol shifted on the bed and the sheets irritated his scratches. Settling back onto the bed beside Trip, T'Pol opened the container and began to smooth the salve over his arms. Trip stiffened in pain while Archer took the container from where she had sat it on the bed and placed it back on the desk.
The salve seemed to lessen the sensitivity of the scratches, but Archer could tell that Trip had to fight hard to not to show the pain that T'Pol's administrations caused. Finally finished with applying the salve, T'Pol went to the bathroom and got a glass of water for Trip to drink from.
Carefully lifting his head, Trip drank the water with gratitude. As T'Pol took the glass from his shaking hand the ship again lurched to one side, causing T'Pol to stumble and Archer to reach out and balance her.
"W-what's going o-on Capt'n?" Trip asked, his voice a little stronger, but still shaky. "I believe we're under attack," Archer replied as he and T'Pol steadied themselves. "Then w-why aren't you on t-the Bridge?" Trip wondered, his fevered mind trying to make sense of the information he was receiving.
"The doors stuck, we can't get out, and anyway, you need me here. I'm sure Malcolm can handle the bridge." Archer answered. "Oh no." Trip groaned. "What?!" Both Archer and T'Pol asked at the same time, worried that there was something wrong internally.
"I-if we survive t-this we'll have t-to s-spend the next m-month listenin' t-to Malcolm talk about h-how he s-saved the ship w-while we were t-trapped in my q-quarters." Trip answered, humor evident in voice despite the fact that his strength was diminishing. Both Archer and T'Pol sighed in relief before allowing themselves to chuckle at Trip's prediction.
Eventually Trip fell back into a fevered slumber and Archer returned to working on the vent. T'Pol seemed to be in deep contemplation as she looked over something on her scanner. Archer assumed that she had scanned Trip and was puzzled by the results.
Occasionally the ship would lurch or the lights flicker, causing Archer to pause and T'Pol to protectively place her hand over Trip's chest. Archer let out a frustrated growl when he pinched his hand as the seventh screw came out of the vent. Shifting his position on the floor, he looked at T'Pol, "This is gonna be a long night."
Silently T'Pol agreed. Looking up from her scanner and she glanced at Trip. "His condition hasn't changed. The salve helped to calm the irritated scratches, but they are still sensitive to touch and his fever hasn't diminished." She said, watching as Trip became more restless in his slumber.
"There's nothing we can do for him other than to keep him as cool as possible and keep applying that salve," Archer replied, moving to check the temperature of his best friend. T'Pol was right, his fever was just as high as before and he was still shivering slightly. Taking a break from working on the vent, Archer decided to rest his injured arm and sore fingers.
After getting another cool cloth from the bathroom, both he and T'Pol settled in for the night, deciding to take turns checking on Trip until Malcolm had things under control and decided to find out what had happened to the Captain.
About five grueling hours later there was a knock on Trip's door. "Captain Archer! Are you in there?" Asked C.S.T.O. Luke Mitchel from the hallway. They had been looking for the Captain for a little over an hour. Malcolm had finally managed to deter the attacking aliens and get the Enterprise into familiar space and had sent crews all over to repair the damage and look for the missing Science Officer, Chief Engineer, and Captain.
When there was no response from inside Commander Tucker's quarters Mitchel tried again, shouting louder. Finally, he heard shuffling, then Captain Archer responded, "We're in here, T'Pol, Tucker, and I are stuck, the door won't open! It was fried during the electrical shock from the first few hits we took!" Archer yelled back.
"Okay, we'll have you out in no time at all!" Mitchel shouted back before turning to one of his men. "I need you to remove the panel by the door, see if you can bypass the damaged section, if not then we'll have to open it manually." The man nodded and turned to get the tools needed.
"Hey, Trip, I need you to wake up," Archer said as he gently shook Trip's shoulder. Trip only moaned in response, over the last few hours he had become less and less responsive. Archer looked at T'Pol who was preparing to cover him with more salve. "See if you can wake him up, I'm gonna check their progress," Archer told her as he moved over to the door. "Trip, can you hear me?" T'Pol asked. The only response she got was a low moan and then the lights flickered and the artificial gravity gave.
Archer managed to grab onto the desk as T'Pol steadied herself by using the bed. Out in the hallway they could hear several groans as the men tried to keep their balance as they worked to get the door open.
"T'Pol?" Trip asked more confused than when he regained consciousness last time. "Yes Trip, I'm here, it's going to be okay," T'Pol said in her most reassuring voice. Trip's confused state worried her. Carefully she laid her hand on his shoulder as their eyes met.
The fever Trip was battling was clearly seen in his eyes. T'Pol almost missed the glint of panic that flashed across his face when he opened his mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head as his body began shaking uncontrollably. "Trip!" She cried, fighting to keep him from falling off of the bed.
Archer turned quickly at the sound of T'Pol's voice, "Captain, he's seizing! We have to get him to Phlox now!" He was shocked to see his best friend's body convulsing as his body and mind reacted to the fever. Turning back to the door, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Mitchell! You have to get this door open now! Trip's not gonna last much longer without medical attention!"
When there was no immediate response he turned and rushed to Trip's side, hoping that Mitchell had heard him and was working double time. Trying not to think about the damage this seizure was doing, he did his best to help T'Pol keep Trip from further harm.