Prompt: All - "We're right here beside you, we won't let you slip away. Plan for tomorrow, because we swear to you, you're going to be OK." - 'Scrubs'
"Don't do this to me, kid," Dalby muttered, as he finished another set of chest compressions. He was tired, but he wasn't going to stop despite the nervous urging of Jonas.
He was aware of his fellow Maquis standing nervously around, eyes scanning their surroundings for signs of the Cardassians. He knew they were vulnerable here by the river but he also wasn't going to give up on the youngest member of their group. Gerron had still had a pulse when Jonas had pulled him from the water, and therefore Dalby refused to let the young man slip away.
After several more rounds of compressions and breaths, Gerron finally started coughing up the water he had swallowed.
"That's it. Get it all out," Dalby instructed as he turned Gerron onto his side to help stop him from swallowing the water a second time.
The coughing fit lasted a couple of minutes, and when it had past Dalby gently returned Gerron back to a lying position.
"Now can we go and get out of the open?" Jonas insisted, taking his eyes off the far river bank only long enough to glance back at Dalby and Gerron.
Dalby could tell by the exhaustion on the young Bajoran's features that Gerron was in no condition to be on the move but the longer they stayed here the longer they risked detection. "Come on, kid. We've got to move," Dalby said, reaching down to pull Gerron into a sitting position.
"I can't. Just leave me," Gerron replied.
"After what I just went through to save you, not a chance," Dalby replied. He'd carry the young Bajoran before he would leave him.
Having put his own phaser away, Hogan knelt down on the other side of Dalby. "We're all in this together," Hogan said positioning himself to help Dalby get their younger comrade on his feet. "Either we all leave this planet or none of us do."
"Speak for yourself," Jonas muttered.
"Ignore him," Dalby countered, as he and Hogan helped Gerron to his feet. "We're right here beside you. Tomorrow you're going to look back on today as an adventure."
Gerron didn't reply, but though leaning heavily on his two comrades, the young Bajoran forced himself to put one foot in front of the other as they continued their search for shelter.