At last, in a wondrous spattering of hope, the drone from Spock's monitor vanishes. With the awakening of the patient's heart, comes the return of the equipment's regular rhythm. The physicians' hastily-acted plan of Cordrazine's hefty dose and M'Benga's trained hand conglomerate in the revival of the vital organ...and the patient. That grimly thick air now seems to dissolve, and the medicos in turn exhale their relief. They had won this small battle with their patient. His life has been restored.

"Atta boy, Spock!" The chief medico does not hide his elation at all, with sweat on his brow wiped by a cloth.

McCoy's colleague, too, lets out a lengthy breath, with his own face swabbed by a nurse. All is well...for the moment, of course. The Cordrazine may only do so much for the Vulcan, with the Benjisidrine not yet completed. There is, however, another probability: the chemicals which began these perilous events.

The two physicians exchange the briefest of glances – marked of course by relief, but also of an inevitability.

"There's a good chance all of these chemicals are still swimming around in his body...", begins the chief medico, promptly returning to his comrade's side.

"And we still have work to do."

As time is still rather a crucial factor, the medicos waste none of it in the continuation of their patient's surgery. There are no minutes or seconds squandered in their due care of the First Officer, with damage to his heart still in need of their trained hands.

A small battle won, indeed...but there is yet more that needs to be done. The crew members who had captured the assailant, however, are oblivious to this latest part of the Medbay's happenings. None more so than the bereaved Communications Officer herself.

ooo

It takes the Benjisidrine an additional two-and-a-quarter hours to reach its full synthesization, the rather vital drug at last ready for its patient. Its completion had unfortunately extended a tad past the physician's estimate, however; a factor that could not have been avoided. Yet, the administration of Cordrazine had bought some time for the drug, and in turn, the medical staff. With the heart of the First Officer repaired for seemingly the final time, all that is required now is a scan of his blood. A search for any remnants of the chemicals that had harmed him. And, of course, the Benjisidrine itself, along with some well-needed rest. Both for him, and the physicians who had tended to him.

As there is no telling of what the attacker's drugs may do when the Benjisidrine enters his system – whether they counteract it or not – the blood scan needs to be quite thorough. Even the very first dose of the harmful substance might still have a negative effect upon the Vulcan, despite it entering his blood many hours ago. Of course, those effects might not be as severe, with most of this dosage already dissipated; there is still a risk all the same. And, yes, there is the secondary drug to consider, being much more recent and of a slight variation to its predecessor. It is for all of these very reasons, that the medicos must conduct their search.

The scan is conducted post-haste, with due diligence and care, by a member of the nursing staff. This task is performed under the instruction of the chief medico, whilst both he and his colleague finalise their patient's surgery. Of course, the nurse knows the correct procedures all the same, and that there is not much use in squandering precious minutes. Hence, the medico's order coming so early; whilst the physicians seal the entry made for the surgery, in fact. With a final closing of flesh by dermal regenerator, the surgery is fully completed.

In a turn of fortune, and good timing, the blood scan as well is completed. The fortune being, of course, the scan's findings: even the most recent attacking chemical is shown to have mere trace amounts remaining in his body; the earlier variant had already diminished completely. The medical staff find this rather odd, as substances normally remain in a patient's blood for much longer periods of time. Perhaps, the assailant designed these drugs in such a way that they leave their target's blood – faster than others – after dealing their damage. A mild detection avoidance, maybe. This discovery is both odd and intriguing, yes; yet, it is another relief for the medicos.

There is, however, yet another twist of fate, another possible outcome of these events. One that may not manifest itself until a future timeframe. Despite the repairs of the Vulcan's heart completed by the collective trained hands of the physicians, there is a degree of risk from the strain caused by the attacker's chemicals. A probability that, with all that the organ had endured, there will be issues that may very well arise when he approaches the more advanced years of his life.

Indeed, here is a rather unique individual who, due to part of his physiology, is capable of enduring more than many of the personnel with whom he serves; yet, that does not make him invulnerable. Not in the slightest.

For, even one such as he would have a limitation of what he can endure, a point at which his body can bear no more. Perhaps, this may well be a fact of which his attacker could be aware, and why he was not as angered by his capture as one might have thought.

His goal was to cause his victim a great deal of suffering, and that is precisely what he had achieved.