Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 01:06:21 -0500 In: alt.startrek.creative From: quills the_quill_pen@yahoo.com Title: "2084" Author: Quills Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com Series: ENT Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain from this story. Codes: T/Tu angst, drama, romance, humor, action/adventure Summary: This is a "Somewhere in Time" type story. It takes place in Chapter 6 Tucker swerved out of his lane and onto the opposite side of the street as he accelerated the eight-cylinder '82 Buick into oncoming traffic. An '83 Intrepid deluxe swerved out of his way, narrowly missing the speeding Buick. Horns blaring, Trip Tucker ignored the other drivers as he glanced over at the unconscious Vulcan in the passenger seat. They had just finished questioning Jackson "Profile" Walters for information about their case. On the way out of "Profile's" club, The Green Parrot they had witnessed a robbery about to go down at a convenience store across the street. Going in without calling for backup, Tucker and T'Pol managed to disarm the three robbers, but at the last minute one of the gunman, had been concealing a weapon, fired a shot that struck T'Pol in the chest. "Come on baby," said Tucker almost pleading. "Just a bit longer." Tucker had told the convenience store clerks to call the police and hold a gun on the robbers until they arrived. He then picked up the wounded Vulcan and carried her back to their car, speeding off towards the nearest hospital with lights and sirens running. Trip Tucker wasn't thinking; he was acting on autopilot. Racing his car through the crowded downtown Miami streets pushing the vehicle to the limit as he continued to swerve in and out of cars. The sound of car horns and cursing drivers didn't slow him as he blew through a red light causing two cars to swerve and the driver of a third car to slam on his brakes as he fishtailed into the other two. Coming around a corner, Tucker hit the accelerator as he raced up the street. Looking over the palm trees in the center medium, he saw a large white four-story building with a blue cross at the top. South Shore Hospital. Seeing the road coming to an end, he slammed on the brakes bringing the car to a screeching halt. Looking up both sides of the cross street, he saw what looked like a back entrance to the hospital complex. Jamming the accelerator, he spun the wheels of the car producing a squealing sound as the tires burned, creating a cloud of black smoke in the car's wake. Spinning the steering wheel, he regained control of the car as he raced it to the end of the block. As he pulled into the entrance, he could see a metal crossbar in front of the opening and a man running out of what appeared to be a guard shack. Slamming on the brakes the car skidded as he turned the wheel hard to avoid hitting the metal bar. Tucker leaned out of his window as he saw the man running towards him. "Open that god damn thing!" The man was wearing in a white short sleeve dress shirt and navy blue pants. Tucker could see the "security guard" patch on the man's arm. Stopping short, the man yelled at Tucker. "Hey you can't come in here; this is for Ambulances only." Tucker fumbled inside his back pocket, pulling out his badge. Flipping open his wallet, he shoved it out the window as he shouted at the man again. "Open it, now!" The man stopped for a moment with indecision. This was definitely something they never covered in "guard school 101". But after a moment, he ran back to the shack and hit lever control, raising the crossbar. Before it was fully up, Tucker had started forward just missing the metal bar with the roof his car. Headed for the main building, he swerved sharply around a bend bringing him right up to the Ambulance entrance. Hitting the brake, he came to a dead stop. Looking up, he could see a placard in big bold letters: EMERGENCY ENTRANCE, AMBULANCES ONLY, DO NOT BLOCK ENTRANCE. Fuck that, he thought getting out of the car. Running to the other side he opened the door just as a woman in white pants and a powder blue smock came running out of the sliding double doors. "Hey, you can't park here," she said. He ignored her and leaned into the car, placing his arms under the unconscious T'Pol. He could feel a warm sticky wetness on his skin and it caused him to shudder as he picked her limp form up. The woman watched him questioningly as he bent over and pulled something out of the car. Then she realized it wasn't something, it was someone. "Oh my god!" she gasped as Tucker turned towards her. She could see the bloody, unconscious woman he was holding. "Quick, get her inside." Tucker followed the woman through the sliding glass doors and down the hallway. She ran ahead of him and he lost site of her as she rounded a corner. He could hear her yelling for a gurney and someone named Sullivan. He hurried down the hall trying not to jostle the unconscious T'Pol too much. Coming to the adjoining corridor he saw the woman turn into, he slowed down and could see a nurse's station just off the corridor. The woman he had followed came running out of the station with two orderlies wheeling a gurney. Tucker stopped short as he almost ran into them. Hefting the Vulcan up, he laid her gently onto the gurney as he looked at her still features. He saw a lock of blood soaked hair stuck to her face. Reaching out he brushed it aside as his lip began to tremble. "What's going on," came a voice from the opposite end of the corridor. A man in white pants and a white smock hurried down the corridor. He stopped abruptly when he saw T'Pol on the gurney. "You can't bring her here!" Tucker didn't bother looking-up; he just pulled out his badge and flashed it at the man as he took T'Pol's hand. "That badge doesn't mean anything in my emergency room officer!" Tucker looked up at the man. A white-hot rage now replaced the fear and panic he had felt only moments ago. Lunging for the man, he grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a row of vending machines against the wall. "You listen to me you bigoted bastard," shouted Tucker. "You're going to help her or so help me, as god is my witness..." pulling out his service weapon and placing it in the man's face. "I'll blow your fuckin' head off!" The man looked at Tucker. He trembled with fear as the gun was aimed right at his face.Shifting his gaze to Tucker, the man swallowed hard. "Listen to me...I'm a doctor…if I could treat her I would, but I don't know anything about Vulcan anatomy. I could kill her just trying." "She'll die if you don't," responded Tucker angrily. He looked at the doctor, tears burning in his eyes. "Please, help her." The doctor gave a hard swallow and then nodded. Tucker released his grip on the man and lowered his weapon, but did not put it away. The doctor walked over to T'Pol and looked at the wound in her chest. He could see the front of her tunic was soaked with a green liquid. Blood, he thought. "What happened?" he asked glancing at Tucker. "She stepped in the way," he answered in a raspy voice. "What the hell was she thinking?" "Officer!" said the doctor sharply. He could see Tucker was badly shaken, but he needed to know what had happened if he was going to have any chance saving her. Tucker looked at the doctor, angrily for a moment. Then his features softened and he took a deep breath. "She was shot in the chest," he replied "One of those old small caliber projectile guns." The doctor placed his hands on T'Pol and gently rolled the Vulcan onto her side. He could see the same large green mass of wet liquid on her back. "I think the bullet passed through her. It looks like she's lost a lot of blood. I'm going to need to go in and see what's been damaged." Looking up at the nurse's station he addressed the woman Tucker had followed into the building. "Cathy, I'll need your help. Prep OR #2." The nurse stared at T'Pol as she shook her head and then grabbed the end of the gurney hurrying it down the corridor. "Someone here get a hold of the Vulcan Consulate," said the doctor. "I think it's in San Francisco." Turning to go to follow his nurse, Sullivan stopped as another nurse called out. "Doctor Sullivan, sir there's an intern up in pediatrics. She mentioned that she studied Vulcan anatomy." The doctor gave the nurse a grave look. "Get her down here, stat." Turning back he started for the OR but stopped suddenly when he heard Tucker behind him. Turning he put his hands up motioning the man to stop. "Whoa, where do you think your going?" "With you," said Tucker trying to move past the doctor. Placing his hand on Tucker's arm, he pulled the officer back. "No way, you stay right here." Tucker tightened his grip on his weapon as he clenched his teeth. Sullivan looked down at the weapon in Tucker's hand and then back at Tucker. "You shoot me and I won't be able to help your girlfriend." Tucker looked startled by that comment and he took a step back. "She's not...I mean she's..." "Look, I promise, I'll do every thing I can," said the doctor trying to reassure Tucker. "But you have to stay out here. You're not going to be any help to us in there...and gun's make me nervous." Trip Tucker looked down at his service weapon. Taking a deep breath, he loosened his grip on the weapon as he holstered it. Sullivan shook his head and headed down the corridor, disappearing into a side room. Trip watched a door swing close behind the man as he stood silently in the hall. Doctor Sullivan entered the operating room, where the nurse had already removed T'Pol's jacket and was cutting off her white tank top. It was soaked with green blood and the nurse hurriedly cut down the center exposing T'Pol's naked chest and the small hole in her abdomen that still had blood flowing out of it. Sullivan ran over to the sink and turned on the hot water as he slathered disinfectant onto his hands. He'd be damned if he was going to go into her alien body with his own alien germs. Grabbing a towel he dried his hands as he headed for the operating table. Flinging the towel onto a nearby stand he grabbed a pair of surgical gloves as the nurse put a mask on his face. He looked over at the EKG monitor. "40 over 20?" he said in disbelief. "Is that thing working?" "Yes doctor." "I don't even know what that qualifies for a Vulcan," he said shaking his head. "We can't chance any medication. But at least she's still breathing. We're going to have to open her up." Looking at the wound, he pressed his hands gently against her abdomen. Soft tissue, he thought. "That's a relief…the bullet didn't appear to shatter any bone. Hopefully it didn't fragment inside of her. "Nurse...hand me a number 11 blade. I'm going to make an incision into her upper abdomen." The nurse handed Sullivan the scalpel and the man moved his hand over T'Pol's abdomen. Hesitating as he moved closer, he could see his hand shaking in fear. He wasn't equipped to treat this woman. He might end up doing more harm than good. Taking a deep breath he steadied his hand lowering the scalpel to her abdomen and started the incision. Drawing a short straight line through the bullet entry wound he could see more green blood flow out. Damit! he thought. I don't even have any blood to replace what she's lost let alone to perform surgery. As he pulled the incision open, he was greeted by nothing short of something out of an old science fiction film. He could see what appeared to be some kind of organ swimming in the woman's green blood. It had been torn, that was obvious, but what it was and how vital it was, Sullivan had no idea. "Nurse...retractor," he said. "I need to get a better view." The nurse moved her hand to the incision the doctor had made. Attaching two retractors, the wound spread wide revealing the Vulcan woman's interior. Sullivan looked at the mass of alien organs and shuddered. What the hell do I do next? he thought. Just then the door swung open. Not bothering to look up Sullivan called out. "If you're the intern, get over here," he barked. "If you're anyone else, get out!" A young girl, about twenty-two or twenty-three stood in the doorway as she stared at the operating table. "Y-Yes," she stammered. "I mean…I'm the intern." "Then get a mask on and get over here," snapped Sullivan. The intern looked at the nurse and swallowed hard. Grabbing a surgical mask from a container on the prep table, she walked over to operating table and stood next to Doctor Sullivan. "I'm an intern...not a doctor." "You a healer," he replied. "This is a patient. I don't know Vulcan anatomy. I can repair the damaged tissue, but I need you to be my guide." She swallowed and nodded. "I-I'll do what I can." Sullivan looked at her. "What's your name?" "S-Susan," she said nervously. "Alright Susan, I'm Doctor Sullivan and this is Nurse Olsen." Sullivan pointed to the EKG readout. "First question...is that normal for a Vulcan?" Susan looked at the monitor for a moment as she tried to recall what was normal for a Vulcan. Shaking her head she replied. "No...the heartbeats only 100...it should be about 240," she explained. "The blood pressure is low too. It should be about 80/40." "Alright," said Sullivan. "I've already opened her up. I'm assuming all this green fluid is blood?" "Yes," she said shaking her head. "This right here," he said pointing at a jagged protruding vessel to the right of the incision line. "It's been ruptured, I can see its damaged, but what is it." Susan looked at it hesitantly. "I think it's her liver...no wait it's her spleen." "Your sure?" he asked. She nodded her head. "Yes" Susan watched as the doctor placed his hand inside T'Pol's body. He gently moved the spleen out of the way and looked beneath it. "Aren't you going to seal it?" she asked him. "No," replied Sullivan. "I need to know if anything more critical has been damaged." "How do you know her spleen isn't critical?" asked the intern. "Is it?" he asked stopping for a moment, looking at the intern. "I-I don't think so," she replied. "Susan, we have to treat this like any other emergency surgery," explained Sullivan. "We determine what's been damaged and we repair critical systems first." Sullivan moved the spleen aside and saw a pool of blood forming underneath. "Nurse, suction." The nurse placed the suction tube in the open incision making a clearer view for the doctor to see. "Susan, I don't have to tell you, we don't have any Vulcan blood. Will she hold up with all this blood loss?" "I'm not sure," replied the intern. "Vulcan's have a number of redundancies that lower bodily functions if they're critically wounded. I think her body will reduce the blood flow. That might account for the low blood pressure." "I hope your right," replied Sullivan. "Alright, it looks like the bullet passed through here and exited out her back. I don't see any other tears to any of these other organs." "But then where is all the blood coming from," prompted Nurse Olsen. "I don't..." Sullivan started, than stopped. "I think I found it." He moved a section of tissue aside and could see a small tear in the organ underneath. Blood was spurting out of it in a steady stream. He didn't have to ask Susan what it was. He could tell by the rhythmic beating. "Oh my god, that's her heart." Susan looked in and sucked in a breath. Shaking her head, she concurred. "Yes, it looks like it's been torn." "Grazed across what looks a right ventricle," said Sullivan. "No wonder she's bleeding out. Her god damn heart is where her liver should be!" He shoved out his hand. "Hand me the "laser"." Nurse Olsen picked up a small cylinder with several colored dials on the top. She handed it to Sullivan who looked at the dial setting. "Susan, I need you to put your hand in there while I seal up that tear." Susan's eyes opened wide and she took a step back. "Susan!" shouted Sullivan. "I need you help!" "What about Nurse Olsen..." "Nurse Olsen is doing the suction," he said. "I need another set of hands." Susan looked over at Nurse Olsen. The nurse nodded her head. "You can do it dear." Swallowing hard, Susan stepped back to the table. "Where do you want me to put my hand?" "Right there," he said pointing to the base of the heart. "Just keep it steady while I seal the tear." Susan reached into the Vulcan, hesitantly, as she placed her hand under the heart. Sullivan looked at the young intern and nodded. He then moved in with the Laser Suture as he carefully took aim on the inch long tear along the heart. Holding his breath, he fired the beam moving the tool slowly down the length of the tear. When he had completed the move, he looked up at Nurse Olsen. The nurse moved in with the suction, clearing out the excess blood. Sullivan examined the sealed wound. "I don't see any leakage," he said, a smile forming on his lips. "I think that did it." Suddenly an alarm bell went off. "Jesus! She's going into cardiac arrest. Get the "crash cart" over hear!" Susan ran over to the blue emergency "crash cart" in the corner and wheeled it next to Sullivan. She guessed what he was planning and prayed it would work. Flipping the power button on as Nurse Olsen lubed an internal cardiac paddle, Susan own heart started beating faster as she feared the Vulcan wouldn't make it. Olsen handed the paddle to Sullivan, who looked at the EKG monitor. It was flat-lined. "Am I clear?" he asked. Susan looked at the crash card readout. The power spiked and then the readouts read green. "Your clear!" Placing the paddle onto the Vulcan's heart, Sullivan clicked the side button sending a current through her heart. He just hoped he didn't tear open the wound in the process. T'Pol's body "jumped" off the table, as the current went through her. Sullivan looked at the monitor. No change. Damit! he swore. "Again!" he said. Susan set the machine and watched the readout. "Clear" Sullivan punched the button sending a second jolt through the heart. T'Pol's body jumped again and Sullivan turned to the monitor. Nothing He looked over at Susan to signal her to rest the machine for a third time when he heard a beep, followed by another and another. Looking back at the monitor he could see the heart rate had returned. Peering in at the heart, he looked for any sign the tear had opened. After several moments he shook his head. "The seal held," he said. "Let's finish with the spleen and seal her up. I don't want to chance her losing more blood." Sullivan went to work sealing the torn spleen; same as he had done for the heart. After he was satisfied that there was no there internal damage, he closed up the incision and inserted sterile gauze in both the entry and exit wounds. With the assistance of Nurse Olsen and the intern Susan, the doctor bandaged and taped up the Vulcan's abdomen and back. "50/30," said Sullivan looking at the EKG monitor. "Does that sound good to you?" "It's not normal, but it's stable," replied Susan. Sullivan shook his head. "Thanks Cathy, keep an eye on her. Let me know if there is the slightest change." The nurse nodded and he could see the outline of a smile under her surgical mask. "Yes, doctor and good work." "Thanks Cathy." Sullivan turned to Susan. "You did a pretty good job yourself," said Sullivan removing his mask. "If you ever decide to leave pediatrics, the ER could always use you." "Thanks...but I think I'll stick with kids," said Susan. Sullivan smiled. "Well...I have a report to file on this. I'm sure there are going to be lots of questions...not to mention that this is the first time a Vulcan has ever been operated on by humans...I'm going to put your name in that report as "doctor assisting". Sullivan put his hands up before Susan could speak. "No, you deserve to share the credit. I couldn't have done it without you." "I won't be done with my residency for another three months," she replied. "I don't think you'll have any problems," smiled the doctor. "Not after what you did here today." She returned the doctor's smile and shook her head. "Thank you." Sullivan turned and headed for the door, stopping briefly to turn back. "So what do I put down for the assisting physician? I can't just put Susan," he said with a smile. "Oh...McCoy," she answered. "Susan McCoy." "Good job...Doctor McCoy." TBC… -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Sun Jan 25 19:30:58 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n18.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.73]) by penguin (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aKUE24uA3NZFl40 for ; Sun, 25 Jan 2004 16:30:26 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13004-1075076981-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.