The Other Shoe
by Diane Farnsworth Kachmar
Lee's restless pacing of
the sub brought him once again to Sickbay. Crane sighed. Jamie wanted him in
his cabin, asleep. Only the incident had him too wound up,
too worried, to even think about that.
Crane sidled quietly
around the door, letting his eyes adjust to the dim lighting. None of the
pharmacist's mates remained on watch, which made him feel a bit relieved.
Lee lightly stepped into
the room, moving carefully around Jamie's desk and dispensary to the patient
area. He didn't want to rouse Doc and get thrown out a second time.
Crane stopped beside the
rack, gazing down at his sleeping Exec. Chip still looked too pale, and Lee
could see the outline of the bulky bandage under the sheet that covered his
friend.
He should have insisted
Chip stay below. Crane smiled in spite of his worry. Morton never argued with
him. As always, he agreed with all Lee's objections and came topside anyway.
Lee closed his eyes as
he once again heard the staccato burst of machine gun fire, and felt the hard
push that sent him staggering. He had crashed to his knees. Reacting
instinctively, Lee had thrown himself behind the nearest cover. He heard
shouting, then the deeper roaring of Seaview's deck gun. The machine gun
fire suddenly stopped. That's when he noticed Chip was no longer beside him.
Lee rose slowly. Around
him, he saw the other members of the detail raising their heads cautiously.
Then he saw Chip sprawled beside the gangplank.
He had run to his
friend, ignoring Sharkey's warning hiss. He had grasped Morton, turning him
over. Chip tried to say something. Then his eyes rolled up, and he went limp in
Lee's arms. A bright crimson bloodstain covered the bottom third of his khaki
shirt and was spreading.
Even as his mind
recoiled from the shock, Lee's training took over. Tearing out the knot in his
tie, he had wrapped the fabric around his hand and pressed it firmly over the
wound. And he held it there until Doc had arrived.
Jamie had assured him it
looked worse than it was. Lee had remained in Sickbay until Chip was out of
surgery. Then Jamieson had thrown him out.
Worry over his friend,
lying there so pale, so still, drew him back.
Chip stirred restlessly
in the rack beside him. Lee opened his eyes, then
reached down, gently tucking the sheet over Chip's shoulder.
Morton's eyes fluttered
open. He looked up at Lee fuzzily, and smiled slightly. "You going to
hover all night?" he asked, sleepily.
"No," Crane
answered. "Be quiet before I get thrown out."
"The damn bandage itches."
"Let me take my own
bullets next time."
"Can't," Chip
replied.
"Why not?"
"If anything
happened to you, I'd get command. You know that's a fate worse than
death."
"Don't joke, Chip,
it's not funny."
Morton reached out a
hand. Lee took it in his own.
"I'll heal."
"I know."
Chip smiled. "Do
you think I like it when you're lying here?"
Crane grinned ruefully.
"It's no fun, is it?"
"Didn't Doc tell
you to go to bed?"
"I couldn't
sleep."
Morton raised an
eyebrow. "Somebody has to mind the store tomorrow, and it isn't going to
be me."
"True." Lee
squeezed his hand. "Go back to sleep, Christopher."
Morton scowled. "I
can't sleep when you hover."
"Time to make
myself scarce, eh?"
"Come back for
breakfast. You can watch the IV drip with me."
Crane chuckled softly.
"That sounds really exciting."
Chip rolled his eyes.
"You've called this place many names. Exciting was never one of
them."
"You know how it
is."
"Yes, I do."
Chip looked up at him again. "Now, quit worrying about me. I didn't move
fast enough."
"They were aiming
at me."
"They missed."
"No, you shoved me
out of the way."
Morton smiled crookedly.
"Guilty. And I'd do it again."
"You do it again,
and so help me---"
"Lee," Chip
gripped his hand hard for a moment. "You can't stop me. Don't even
try."
"It's not
right."
"Maybe so, bud, but
you're the skipper. That's the way it is."
"I don't like you
ending up hurt."
"Neither do I.
Believe me, I didn't plan it this way."
Crane smiled at his
friend's chagrined words. "Do you need anything before I go?"
"No, I'm all right.
Really."
Lee gripped his friend's
hand hard once more, then released it. "You
scared me when you passed out like that."
"It didn't feel so
hot from this end, either."
"I owe you
one."
"Good. Tell the
State department to send their own guys in next time."
"The Admiral
already did."
"Man, I would have
loved to have heard that call."
Lee grinned. "He
was pretty descriptive."
"Blistered an ear
or two, I imagine." Jamieson's voice came from behind him. "I told
you to go to bed."
Crane shrugged. "I
wasn't sleepy."
"Well, find someone
else to talk to. Chip needs his rest."
"You would have
woken me checking my pulse, anyway. Give him a break, Doc."
Lee moved aside so
Jamieson could do his examination. Doc quickly checked Chip's pulse and
respiration. "You're pretty alert for a guy who's been gutshot."
Chip shrugged. "It
only grazed me."
"I wish,"
Jamieson replied. "You're as bad as him."
"Rubs off."
"I noticed. Now,
you are going to sleep, and you---" Jamieson turned to Crane.
"---are leaving.
I'll see you in the morning, Chip. Sleep well."
"You, too."
Lee caught his best
friend's eye and winked. "I will now."
©Diane Kachmar, 2003.
All rights reserved.