(PNPC) Ensign Chris Davies - vanishes the flame

[Alleran Tan]

((Cooridor outside daycare))

::Davies helped Gilaars and T’tala sort through the equipment the

security guard had returned with. As they organized the tools, two

men joined them. Davies looked up, hoping these were the

reinforcements he’d asked for. With relief, he instantly observed how

small the Trill man was::

::The Trill was injured, however. Davies frowned at the blood-soaked

makeshift bandage that was tied around the other man’s head::

Tan: Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant. What do we have?

Davies: We’ve got a small access into the daycare.

Gilaars: ::nodding: None of us can fit in that hole,

unfortunately. ::eyes Tan's small size:: Hmm...

Burt: I hate to point out the obvious, but it looks like the doorway

collapsed. ::shooting a look to Tan:: Not many people are going to fit

in that hole.

T'tala: It is small but it appears structurally sound. Lieutenant

Gilaars has prepared a small inventory of supplies.

:: Alleran nodded again, reaching down for the rope and beginning to

thread it around his waist. T'tala gave him a curious glance. ::

T'tala: Your leg... you are moving with much more-

Tan: Drugs. I am high as a kite right now. Believe me, I'm going to be

paying for this later, but you need someone short. I'm short. Ergo, I

did what I needed to get mobile.

Burt: ::smirking:: Remember what I said before? Petite. But you

probably feel like a giant right now.

:: Alleran gave Burt a grin. ::

Tan: No kidding, huh?

::Davies did not like the look of Tan’s injuries one bit. He really

shouldn’t allow him to go - but time was running out. He could offer a

painkiller from his medikit, but as Tan had already indicated he’d

likely already had far too many::

Davies: Tan, you really shouldn’t be doing this...

:: Tan gave the man a grin. ::

Tan: If I go into cardiac arrest in there, just pull me out. I'm sure

Doctor O'Hanlon can get me going again... if anyone can find where he

is.

Davies: Well, don’t count me out. I may not get as much practice

but, ::he pointed to his blue uniform:: still a qualified medical

officer. I haven’t heard from O’Hanlon. Do you know if he made it

out?

:: Tan shook his head, tying off the last of the knot. ::

Tan: I have no idea. There's a lot of bodies on the decks below us...

I hope he made it out okay.

::Davies just nodded. The situation was getting more and more grim

with each passing second::

Burt: Well, we’ll just have to make sure you don’t have a heart

attack, how about that?

:: Giving a nod, Tan gave T'tala and Gilaars the other end of the

rope, hooking the laser cutter into his belt. He gave the four of

them, including Davies and Burt, a grin. ::

Tan: Okay, so. Scream once for pull me out. Scream twice for pull me

out REALLY QUICK.

Gilaars: Understood. ::Tightens grip on rope::

::Beside them, the older Terran who Davies recognized from Ten Forward

started to laugh. It elicited a chuckle from Chris as well. It

seemed wholly inappropriate to be laughing when a whole daycare was

buried beneath a broken ship, but humor had an odd way of popping up

no matter what the circumstances::

:: Tan held up his hands. ::

Tan: ... sorry. I have a severe concussion. But I also have two

brains, so it's not affecting me as much as it otherwise would. Still.

I should probably see a doctor before sundown or, you know... die.

Until then, drugs!

Davies: Just get in and get out safely and we’ll take good care of

you.

Gilaars: Okay, let's get going!

::And then, like some rabbit, the man wiggled through the hole and was

gone. Davies tried to peer through after him, watching the beam from

Tan’s flashlight until it was obscured by debris. His palms began to

sweat. Soon, the time for hoping would be over and all they’d be left

with was either relief or despair.::

::Then there was more movement, a quick beam of light from Tan’s

flashlight followed by the last thing Davies had ever expected to

see...the furry face of a dog::

Tan: Look after him -- uuh, her -- Burt!

Burt: Hey there, buddy - you look like you’re okay.

::Davies watched the dog walk around. Amazingly it appeared

uninjured, if not a little agitated, as if it wanted back in to the

daycare. Davies assumed it was trained as a search-and-rescue animal

the way it continued sniffing at the pile of rubble blocking the

door::

Tan: Got one down here!

::Davies heart froze. He watched as a small body came toward the hole

and he felt his insides liquefy as he recognized the unmoving, blond

head. Ashley. He reached into the hole and grabbed her shoulders,

laying one hand under her neck for support. He swallowed. She wasn’t

breathing...::

::The older man was at his side, helping him tug on a piece of

Ashley’s shirt that had gotten caught on a piece of rough metal. The

fabric yielded with a rip and Ashley slid into his arms. He lowered

her to the floor, and shouted back at Tan while he tore into his

medikit::

Davies: Anyone else in there?

:: He just shook his head. ::

Tan: The baby pens appear to be intact. They're soundproofed so I

don't know what I'll find in there. Aside from there... there's really

nothing left of the whole room. I doubt there's anyone alive who's not

in one of those rooms.

Gilaars: Just do the best you can, Lieutenant. That all we

ask. ::sighs::

::Davies ran the tricorder over Ashley. Her skull was fractured and

she was severely hemorrhaging. There were just too many injuries. She

was so small and there been too many heavy things beating against her

body::

Burt: She’s not doing too good... I need to get her out to the doctor.

I don’t think she has time for us to wait for someone to show up.

::Davies thrust the tricorder at Burt angrily::

Davies: I am a doctor!

::Not that it was going to do Ashley any good. He bent over her and

covered her nose and mouth with his own. It’d been a long time since

his basic medical classes and his courses on infant CPR but he

remembered what he needed to do. He had to control himself from

working too quickly, or too roughly. Her little lungs couldn’t handle

a full, adult breath of his own, so he kept his shallow::

::After three rounds of respiration he pressed his ear to her chest,

trying to find a heartbeat. He looked up at Burt::

Davies: What’s that tricorder say?

Burt: ?

::He pressed his hand to her chest and felt for the bottom of her

ribcage. Half of it was crushed but he measured with the lengths of

his fingers to find the location of her heart::

Davies: I have to try.

::He worked and worked. He wasn’t sure how much time had gone by, he

only knew far too much had passed without any reaction from the little

girl. It wasn’t until a pair of hands gripped his shoulder and pulled

him away that he stopped. He leaned back on his knees, rubbing the

blood from his hands onto this pant legs, catching his breath.

Beneath him Ashley did not move, nor would she move, ever again. He

reached out, his hand oddly calm and steady, and brushed back the mat

of blond hair on Ashley’s forehead. There was no need for the symbolic

gesture of closing her eyelids - they were already closed. He hoped

they’d been closed before the room’s collapse and she’d been spared

those horrors. Whatever she’d endured though, she was safe from it

now. Her pain was over.::

TBC/Tags

Ensign Chris Davies

Medical Officer

USS Avandar