Sorry for the wait. I kept trying to write this chapter and it took forever to get it right (this is much better than what I had written originally). It is shorter than the other chapters, but, in my opinion, it is still pretty interesting. Well, without further adieu, enjoy.
Chapter 18
What had he just done?
WHAT HAD HE DONE?
Little Wolf screamed with pain. Her sharp, piercing wail shook the walls with its unending cry while Khan lay paralyzed next to her, his offending hand still on her broken spine. Tears streamed down her face as the pain raced like wildfire through her body.
But he didn't move.
He couldn't move.
It couldn't be real. It had been Marcus—not Little Wolf! It had been Marcus's skull—his neck—that he had broken not…not her…it couldn't have been her. It couldn't have. This was a dream or a sick, twisted joke. Any second now, someone would jump out and laugh at him, and he, in turn, would literally skin them alive for their cruel joke…or he'd wake up…it was dream. Yes, it was time to wake up...and everything would be okay again.
…But he didn't awaken.
Little Wolf's screams got weaker and weaker as the pain and shock flooded her system until she went limp beside him, her breathing getting shallower and shallower…her face growing pale. She moaned and whimpered, but no longer thrashed her feet or made any sharp noises.
He moved.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Gently, he removed himself from her still body. Once off of the bed, he rushed to the replicater and rapidly replicated a tube in order to transfer his blood directly into her body. He didn't even bother with a bag: he stuck the needle in his arm and attached the other end to her tiny, frail wrist, but even as the life-giving fluid rushed into her body, she didn't stir.
Her moaning stopped.
Her breathing slowing until it was almost imperceptible.
He watched as the wound on her back quickly healed, but Little Wolf never moved. Worried, Khan placed two fingers on her throat to find her pulse; it was weak but present. He sat down on the ground beside her and waited.
Hours ticked by.
Still, no movement.
"Little Wolf," he whispered quietly.
She gave no sign of having heard him. He disconnected the line that connected them, feeding him her blood. She didn't so much as flinch when he pulled the needle out. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. His stomach twisted as his hand brushed across her sensitive face.
There was no response.
None.
"Little Wolf!" His voice, though louder, still received no response from the tiny girl.
It was now that the panic set it.
"LITTLE WOLF!" And then he was shaking her, caution be damned. "LITTLE WOLF! Wake up! Wake up!" He begged. Anxious tears flowed down his cheeks.
She wasn't moving? Why wasn't she moving? His blood had saved Kirk and Thomas Harewood's daughter! Hell, it had brought both Kirk and a tribble back from the dead! Why wasn't it doing anything for Little Wolf? WHY WASN'T IT WORKING?
It made no sense! She was healed! There was no more wound! She should be better! She should be awake and moving! She should be screaming to get away from him and demanding to never see him again because he had harmed her despite his promise that he never would—she should be doing something! Anything! Not this…not this…lack of movement. Not this…stillness.
And it was his fault…even if it had been an accident. He should be the one with the injury—the punishment…he should be the one in critical condition. It was his fault. It was all his fault.
Khan stared at the hand that had harmed her in silent wonder. All the other times he had touched her and only now did she bear the scars…it wasn't fair. She was just a little girl…he was the monster, the murderer! It should be him!
The door swished open.
"Khan," Silver Moon stood in the doorway, frozen by Khan's expression: deep and searing pain. Her eyes flicked to Little Wolf and her heart froze. "No…"
The word came out as a whisper and then a scream as she ran across the room and hugged Little Wolf tightly to her chest. Angry she shoved Khan away from and cradled the girl close, tears streaming down her face.
"What did you do?!" She wailed. "What did you do to my daughter?! What did you do to my baby?!"
"I—" He was flustered. For the first time in his life, his mine was frozen. The wheels in his brain turned wildly but no responses appeared.
'What did he do'? He did not know—if he did she would be better now! She would be safe! She would stable! What did he do? He snapped her spine and allowed her to go into shock! That's what he did!
Wait...
…Shock…
It was shock! That was it!
"Cover with her with a blanket! Now!" Khan ordered.
Shock. It was shock; She needed to be warm—the room was freezing! No wonder she had slipped away so quickly!
"What?" Silver Moon blinked in confusion and Khan rushed forward impatiently. He ripped the comforter up from the bed and quickly wrapped it around mother and daughter.
"Hold her close. She needs the body heat," Khan ordered quickly.
Gently, he pushed Silver Moon back onto the mattress until she was curling her body around the small girl with Little Wolf lying flat on her stomach beside her mother. Khan elevated the girl's feet with his pillows while Silver Moon stroked her hair and begged her to wake up.
Her breathing evened.
Slowly.
Hours slipped by before she moaned. Her eyes cracked slightly and both parents moved to comfort her. Silver Moon glared angrily at Khan as he stretched out a hand to touch Little Wolf's face; he retracted his hand, but he didn't mind in the least. His mind was giddy with relief: she would live. Little Wolf was going to live! She'd be in the medbay for a while…and Silver Moon would probably take Little Wolf and the others and leave with the intention of never seeing him again…but they would be alive…no thanks to him.
Khan rose fluidly to his feet.
"I'll take the next shift for flying the ship now if you want to take Little Wolf to medbay to run some tests," he said evenly.
Without waiting for a response, he fled from the room. Heat prickled at the corners of his eyes but he willed it away. All this time, he had been fighting to save his Augmented family and in mere minutes he had nearly destroyed his biological one…maybe he deserved to be alone after all.
I'm not entirely sure if she would have (realistically) gotten better so quickly. I got the treatment for shock off of 'Google' so, it may or may not be entirely correct in terms of how quickly she had recovered from it. But, since this is a Fanfiction, it doesn't necessarily have to be accurate; it just has to fit the story plot...I guess. I'm not a doctor, so don't take any of this stuff as advice as to how to treat someone.