Fools Rush In by Teal

Chapter 21

Jadzia lay gasping, unable to breathe without forcing air in and out of her lungs, which was a painful procedure due to the weight of materials that was crushing down upon her. She wasn't sure how long she had lain there unconscious; she had lost sense of time and place. The only thing she knew too well was that she was in shock, and the minute she allowed herself to relax, to quit trying to force that air in and out of her lungs, she would undoubtedly die. She was also freezing cold, and was at that moment arguing with herself over the cause: loss of life support systems, or the shock, growing ever worse. She decided it was a combination of the two and told herself to shut up about it and concentrate on breathing rather than the chattering of her teeth.

So, this was it? Even if the unknown ally on the outside had known she existed, and wanted to get at her, they wouldn't be able to in time. There was no way they could transport her. She knew from previous experience that the Cardassians used a dampening field, powered by a separate and independent power source, around all their prisoner bays. And the plain facts were that last blow had knocked her right back into the bay itself. Her only hope was that they would send in some one, and from the increasing creaking and groaning noises coming from the ship around her, it had better be soon.

Breathe in, breathe out, she coached herself. It was growing more and more difficult to do. It wouldn't be long, and she'd be unconscious. She felt tempted to just fall off to sleep, but kept comforting herself with the thought that the ally hadn't demolished the ship, and may at any minute decide to board her. It was that very idea that kept her going. She wasn't about to quit, not after all the fighting she had done to get here.

Her eyes involuntarily closed, again and again. Keep awake, she ordered herself. But, it was really a loosing battle. Her eye lids lazed closed once again, and she thought she heard someone talking to her. When she opened them, she was on Trill, in her old College room, looking up at her room mate.

"Wake up!" She yelled down at her.

"I just can't." She replied. "The party lasted so long, and I got a little drunk. My head is aching, and if I don't get some sleep, I won't pass that test this afternoon." She really shouldn't have stayed as long as she did at the party, but it had been such a good time. She was finally starting to fit in around here.

"Jadzia, if you fall asleep, you won't wake in time. And this test is the final. You can't miss it, or they will disqualify you for the Joining!" Alika was always looking out for her like that.

"I'm just so tired. Set my alarm, I'll wake up in time, I promise."

Alika looked doubtful. "I can't come back to check on you, you know, my test is today too. You're going to blow it. You never go to parties, and you hardly ever drink Jadzia, why did you have to start last night, the night before the most important test of your life?"

Jadzia shook her tired head at her. "I'll be fine. Just need to sleep." Her eyes closed again, and she drifted off. Alika was always like that, trying to protect her from everything. She could hear her walking away, still muttering to herself. Just as Jadzia was about to fall into a deep sleep, she heard the crashing sound of a door being thrown open. She frowned, wondering who it could be.

"You have to wake up!" It began sounding like Alika's voice, but ended up sounding male.

"I haven't slept long enough. Just a little longer," she tried convincing the voice.

"Jadzia! Wake you must stay awake." The voice sounded so familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"Sleep," she muttered, her voice fading out as she drifted off again.

The sound of metal being slid around and thrown jolted her back awake. Metal? She looked around, her eyes squinting against emergency flood lamps lit around her. She heard grunting and could see someone's tall bulky outline pulling against one of the metal beams that lay across her legs. She faded back out again as her memories began stirring around in her head. She remembered the joining, and then graduating Star Fleet. She smiled to herself, remembering how proud her parents had been. Then her marriage.

Funny how only the really important events popped up in your mind at the end. She had always thought that was just made up, but here she was reviewing the most important events of her life. All the rest, all the little arguments and worries seemed to fade back and lost all importance. She remembered Worf. She remembered loosing him and the pain of it, and then remembered finding him again in this reality. Now she was loosing him again. Strange to think of it that way. So many regrets.

"Worf," she murmured aloud, not realizing she did so.

"I'm here," the voice replied back, still grunting and pulling on her metal prison.

"Worf?" she asked much more clearly and very surprised.

"Do not worry, I will get you out."

She tried laughing, she was so relieved he had been the one to come for her, but the pain stole it away from her. "We have to stop meeting like this." She pushed the sentence out, expelling all the air from her lungs, then forcing the air back in them again. The routine was fast becoming unbearable.

She heard him snort, and the fact he found humor in what she said made her feel oddly content. She watched him as he lifted off yet another section and return for the last piece. The actual weight was lifting off of her, but she continued to fade, and was even feeling weaker than she had before.

As the last section was removed, and as Worf was lugging it away, her mouth filled with blood. She coughed it up, sputtering for air, only to have more replace it. Looking down at her body, what she saw a frightened her. Her ribs were indeed broken, the evidence of one poking its way out of her uniform. Around the bone was a bright red foamy substance that she recognized immediately: Blood, highly oxygenated blood from a punctured lung. She lay back, moaning and choking. Her metallic prison had also been putting enough pressure on her it had kept her from bleeding to death. But, no more.

Worf looked down at her in alarm. If she hadn't known she was dying before, she did now. It was written plainly in his desperate expression. He moved quickly around her, looking for ideas and ways to stabilize her.

As he moved about her, she felt compelled to speak. "Too late." She gurgled past the liquid in her mouth.

"No. I will get you out."

"I'm sorry," she rasped back.

He leaned down next to her face, "I will get you out, do not give up." He brushed her forehead with his lips. Reaching gingerly over her, he pulled her arms across her chest, readying her for the move. Then he pulled some material out of a pack and tied it around her legs to keep them immobile.

"This will hurt." He lifted her slightly and slid her gently over to the sheeting. She would have cried out if there had been enough air in her lungs, but as it was she just gasped in silent pain. Once he had her settled, he pulled on the foot of the metal gurney and slid her out, inch by inch. The grating noise echoed off the walls and seemed to fill the ship. As they reached the opening of the hall the bed suddenly lurched to a stop, catching on something below.

That's it then. What a ridiculous way to die.

Worf cursed in Klingon, and then crawled up behind her to see what had happened. To his chagrin he discovered that the sheeting was caught underneath, a section of it bent down and lodged rather solidly. Cursing again, his patience running thin, he reached for his phaser, firing on the section and disintegrating it in one shot.

Satisfied, he moved quickly back into place and pulled her out, clearing the bay wall completely. He glanced down at her, seeing that her condition was quickly worsening, and tapped on his communicator pin.

"Worf to Defiant, what is your status?"

"Warp engines back up, life support systems back at normal. Ready to go, Commander." Kira replied.

"Two to transfer." He answered back.