Chapter 2
Back to the Present:
Nicholas was trying even harder to hold back his tears so that Tamara wouldn't be able to utter one word of disapproval. However, he deemed it pointless to fight them any longer seeing as Johansen lied there, unconscious and unable to hear him anyway. Dr. Rush put his face into his hand that wasn't holding T.J's and allowed himself to cry as he pleased. He felt somebody put a hand on his shoulder. Once Nicholas peered up, he realized it was Colonel Young.
"Colonel, what are you doing here," a surprised Rush inquired Everett.
Young removed his hand from Nicholas's shoulder. "I came by to… you know," he sorrowfully responded.
"Right," Nick said, looking down at the floor. As he began to walk away, he continued, "I'll give you a few moments alone, then."
"Wait! That won't be necessary," replied Young. "I'm not going to be long- only a few seconds." Dr. Rush nodded his head in approval, and Everett walked over to Ms. Johansen's bedside. Grasping her hand, the Colonel quietly whispered into her ear, "I can be a very selfish, arrogant man. You know that. However, what I don't think you know is that I'm sorry for what I said to you that night. Rush is a good man, and he gave you far more in a year than I ever could have given you in a lifetime." Everett kissed Tamara's forehead, and slightly raised his tone as he concluded, "I'll miss you."
The Colonel started to leave when Nicholas asked, "What did you say to her?"
"Is that any of your business, Rush?"
Shifting a bit, Nick answered, "It is if you were flirting with my fiancé."
"Is that what you think I was doing?! Sorry to give you the wrong impression, but I wouldn't do that. She's all yours," Young said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have paper work to finish."
"Yeah… I just bet you do! And I bet you wouldn't do that, Captain Kirk," Nick sarcastically remarked.
Rush's statement made Everett angry, so he boldly answered, "Look! T.J is dying. I really don't feel like picking a fight with you right now. So, get out of my way!"
This time, Dr. Rush allowed Young to leave. As the Colonel implied, it was pointless to argue at a time like this. It's not something Tamara would have wanted.
A few hours later, Nicholas fell asleep in the chair, his arms acting like a pillow for his head which was resting on top of T.J's legs. He never wanted to leave her side, even for a moment because a lot could happen in mere seconds.
Johansen's breathing started to slow down and her pulse became deathly weak. The monitor that kept track of her vitals began beeping, and this woke Rush. He peered up at the screen and realized it was alerting the doctor that Tamara's heart stopped beating. Hurrying into the room, the doctor recommended to Nicholas that he step outside the infirmary for a moment, and then used the defibrillator in the attempts of bringing her back. A multitude of tries later, the doctor ruefully told Rush, "I'm sorry. She's gone."