Archer, T'Pol, Malcom and the rest of the S.T.O. guys were anxiously waiting outside of the crawlspace. Suddenly a blood curdling scream ripped through the air, followed by complete silence. Archer was the first to act as he rushed towards the crawlspace. When he reached the hole, C.S.T.O. Mitchel was just crawling out backwards, bringing the head of the stretcher with him. Archer waited impatiently for the stretcher to be clear of the crawlspace, followed by Lieutenant Jenkins holding the foot of the stretcher. Once they were clear of the hole they laid the stretcher on the ground and traded places with two other S.T.O. members, who proceeded to pick up the stretcher again. Trip was lying on the stretcher unmoving and Archer gently placed his hand on the side of Trips forehead that wasn't covered in blood. "You're gonna make it, you have to make." Archer whispered fiercely in Trips ear, quickly he wiped the moister from his eyes and turned to the S.T.O. members who were holding the stretcher. "He's burning up, get him to Sickbay now!" Archer then turned his attention to Mitchel. "What happened? He was conscious when I was in there." Archer demanded. "We had to move him onto the stretcher and he was already in pain from us removing the pipe. He was still conscious, but when his ribs hit the bottom of the stretcher the pain became too much and he passed out." Mitchel explained, regret that he had caused Commander Tucker more pain evident in his voice. Nodding sharply, Archer turned and made his way to Sickbay.

In Sickbay everybody was in a rush. When S.T.O. brought Trip in Phlox started handing out orders to anyone standing nearby. "One of his ribs have punctured the skin, I need a blood transfusion started stat! Someone clean up his head wound, and get me the hypospray for fever reduction!" Shinning a light in Commander Tucker's eyes in the typical doctor fashion, Phlox tried to gage the seriousness of his concussion. "I also need the hypospray containing the Oxycodone." Phlox said as he cleaned up the blood around the puncture wound. Trip also sustained three more broken ribs and severe bruising of the abdomen. Once the pain killer had been administered Phlox began to push the protruding rib back under the skin. Trip began to moan and pull away from the still stinging pain. "Hold him down! I can risk him puncturing a lung." Phlox said, consumed in his work. Once the rib was taken care of, Phlox checked for and began the treatment for the infection that had begun to set in. Once he had done what he could to clean out the wound he stitched the skin back together and wrapped Trip's ribs to help keep them still. After thoroughly cleaning out the infection that had set into Trip's left hand and then bandaging both of his hands, Phlox moved up to Trip's head and examined the gnash above his right eyebrow. It was deep and it had bled a lot, as most head wounds do. "Let's get him in the scanner." Phlox said, a little more calm now that the major wound was taken care of. Turning to Captain Archer, who had arrived shortly after Commander Tucker, Phlox updated him of Trip's condition. "As I suspected, he has severe concussion. That explains the momentary memory loss earlier when he was talking to you. It also accounts for his being unconscious when you reached him in the crawlspace. When he regains consciousness I will have to assess his other symptoms." After they got Trip out of the scanner and onto a bio-bed, Phlox again turned to Archer. "He has a high fever from the infection, so I have him on antibiotics. He is also receiving a blood transfusion so he's not out of the woods yet, but it will be several hours before he is strong enough to regain consciousness." Phlox paused a moment to examine Archer, as he hadn't said a word since Trip had been brought in. "He'll make it, he's fighter." Phlox said when Archer still hadn't torn his gaze from his friend's bruised and now bandaged face. "I know." Archer finally replied. "I haven't finished the treaty yet, but I can't leave him. Can you believe that just this afternoon I was mad at him for knocking over a few of my tablets? He brought me food and I got mad at him. The only other contact we had was when the ship was under attack. I didn't even ask him about the bandage on his hand. I should've asked." Archer's head was bowed over, his hands covering his face, by the time he finished his sentence, his voice filled with regret. "You were overwhelmed with work, he understood. The important thing is that he's here and alive, he does not need you to wallow in regret, he just needs you to be there for him." Phlox laid a hand on Archer's shoulder, his tone comforting as his gaze fell to Trip's unconscious form. "You're right. If you don't mind I can work on the treaty from here." Archer said as he looked around the room at the other full bio-beds. "I'll stay out of the way, I promise." Archer quickly added before Phlox could reply. With a sigh, Phlox looked at the ground and nodded his head. "That will be fine Captain, but if there are any complications you will have to step aside." "Agreed, thank you." Archer said as he walked over to the com to ask Hoshi to bring his stuff to Sickbay.

Zero One Hundred (1:00am) Wednesday, 05/09/2052

Trip slowly opened his eyes. All he could see was white, it was so bright that he quickly shut them again. He was so cold, he couldn't remember ever being this cold. His body started to shudder, and he pried his eyes open again, thinking to ask for a blanket. But his body wasn't cooperating with him, and the next thing he knew his body started to seize up and panic overcame his senses as his eyes rolled back in his head.

Archer's attention was jerked away from the treaty alarms started going off from the monitor by Trip's bio-bed. Phlox quickly rushed over just as Trip's body started convulsing. Archer stepped out of the way before he was trampled by the other Sickbay personnel. He watched in shock as Trip's body continued to convulse, only faintly hearing what was being shouted. "I need those ice packs! He's fevers spiked..hold his arm...where is that hypospary!" Phlox shouted as he worked quickly to save the Commander's life. "Right here doctor." Said one of the nurses as he handed over the hypospray. Finally, thanks to the sedative in the hypospray, Trip's body lay still. Archer wasn't sure which was worse, the stillness or the convulsions. Finally getting the ice packs in place, and administering another fever reducer, Phlox turned to the Captain, who was still standing silent, worry written all over his face. "It's okay Captain. His fever spiked, causing him to convulse, but I've given him a sedative, and he should be fine." Archer just looked at Phlox nodding his head before he again took his seat, momentarily forgetting about his work on the treaty he grasped Trip's hand and just held on.

Zero Seven Hundred (7:00am), Wednesday, 05/09/2052.

Captain Archer had finally finished the treaty. Slowly he stood from where he had been sitting all night. Glancing at Trip he realized that Trip looked worse than he did when they had first found him. The bruising on his forehead seemed darker because Trip's skin had paled considerably after the night that he had had. The fever had climbed causing Trip to become delirious and to thrash about, every now and then he would start shivering and groaning in the most heart wrenching manner. Archer could barely stand to see his best friend in such pain, knowing that he couldn't do anything to help him. Phlox would come when Trip started thrashing and give him another sedative, which allowed Trip to fall into an uneasy rest. Constantly the nurses were replacing the ice pads, as Trip's body was sucking the cold from them at an unusual rate. This continued until about zero four hundred, when Trip's fever finally broke. Every now and then he would still moan or groan but finally he seemed to settle into a deep sleep. It was during this time that Archer finished the treaty, stopping to check on Trip every few minutes. Archer's thoughts were brought back to the present when his stomach growled loudly. Phlox approached Captain Archer just in time to hear his hunger make itself known. "You should go eat, Captain. Trip will still be here when you get back, and besides, you have to meet the Vulcans and the Andorians in less than an hour. You should go get ready." Phlox said, knowing that the Captain was hesitant to leave Commander Tucker's side after all that had happen during the night. "Your right. But I'll be back as soon as the treaty is agreed upon and signed." Archer said, finally stepping away from Trip's bio-bed. "I wouldn't expect anything less, Captain." Phlox replied. Archer nodded, and after one more glance at Trip's unconscious form he walked out of Sickbay to get ready for the treaty signing.

Fifteen Hundred (3:00pm), Wednesday, 05/09/2052.

Slowly his senses began to come back to him as he heard voices that seemed to come from a distance. He could hear the tone of their voices but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Gradually he became aware that the pain in his hands, head, and abdomen had greatly lessened, though it was still there throbbing with his heart beat. Faintly he heard a moan and wondered if it had come from him. His suspicions were confirmed when he felt a light touch on his forehead. When the voice spoke again it was clearer. "The fever hasn't returned and it appears that the infection has greatly diminished, he should be waking at any moment." A name suddenly came out of the fogginess that was his mind…Phlox…but he didn't know why he knew this name. Carefully he opened his eyes, the light was bright and intense and the sheer shock of it made him shut his eyes as his head began to pound harder. "Trip, Trip, you can open your eyes, Phlox turned the light down." This voice was familiar, but the name was just out of reach. Suddenly names and images rushed through his mind and events and places began to piece together and make sense behind his closed eyes causing him to groan at the intensity of it all. He'd been trapped, he was the Chief Engineer on U.S.S. Enterprise. Archer was his Captain and his best friend. He was in Sickbay. They had found him…had rescued him…he was safe. Slowly opening his eyes once again he looked to the left and found a blurry Archer staring down at him. "You were out for a while there Trip, had us scared." Archer said, placing a hand gently on Trip's shoulder. "Sorry to w-worry ya Cap'n." Trip replied, his voice little more than a croak, his vision clearing a bit. "Here have some water, you have been unconscious for several hours." Phlox said as he handed him a glass of water. "Thank you." Trip said after he had taken a generous sip. "You're quite welcome." Phlox said, smiling down at him. While Trip was focused on Phlox, Archer took the time to assess his state of being. The bruise on his forehead had turned a darker shade of purple and despite the several hours after his fever broke that he had had to rest, he still appeared completely worn out. Trip's weak voice interrupted Archer's thoughts. "Cap'n, how'd t-the treaty g-go?" Trip asked, looking up at Archer. "It went better than expected, Shran sends his regards, as do the Vulcans. The Andorians have promised to take care of the Zullonos. Shran was outraged when I told him about the attacks." Archer said, slightly amused as he remembered the way that Shran's antenna's had stood straight up in shock and anger. "G-good, I'm g-glad it went w-well." Trip said, his eyes closing of their own volition, unable to keep them open a second longer. "Me too, Trip, me too." Archer patted his shoulder and sighed in relief, Trip was going to be fine. As he sat there staring at Trip's now sleeping form he finally allowed himself to breathe.

The End

:) I hope that y'all enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated and ideas are always welcomed :)