Ratings: SV,MSC,MV,IV
1 – Lose - 1
Time no longer had meaning. There was only pain, a dull ache that wouldn’t stop. Why? Where was he? Garak couldn’t remember. Sound… that always meant more pain.
“I think today we will start with some old fashion torture. See if that doesn’t loosen your tongue tailor.” Dukat sneered, the last word a hissing insult.
Garak no longer registered the words, just the sound. The sound meant more pain, sharper pain. There it was, a sharp pain somewhere. It was like fire. Garak focused on the pain, tired to analysis it, determine what tool made it. Sometimes he was even able to guess what was happening once he knew what tool was being used.
A whip, the pain was caused by a whip. I must be being beat with it, but where? His body didn’t seem to understand the signals anymore. There was just the noise of pain. The pain continued until slowly darkness began to dull the senses.
“Leave him there. Tell me when he awakes.” Dukat barked at the guard. “Do nothing to him. I want him to hang there ‘til he confesses.”
“Understood, sir.” I wonder if Dukat will let me do some persuading?
…
“Let him down.” Dukat barked.
“Sir?” the guard was confused.
“You heard me. Let him down.” Dukat’s voice was the softest of threatening hisses.
“Yes, sir.” the guard hit the release switch and Garak’s body feel to the ground in a heap.
“Remove his cuffs and bring him. We are doing a prisoner exchange.” Dukat’s voice made his opinion of the exchange abundantly clear. “Don’t worry about being gentle, just bring him.”
“Yes, sir.” With relish the guard grabbed Garak’s limp body up by the neck ridges. This elicited a moan from the prisoner, but nothing else.
Garak was only vaguely aware that something was happening to him. There was pain, but something else too. Movement? What could that mean?
“Where’s your prisoner?” Dukat was not happy.
“We will beam the prisoner to you once myself and Garak are safely back on the Defiant.”
That was a different voice, a familiar voice. Garak tried to concentrate on his surroundings. This made the pain worse, but Garak had to see that voice. As the guard came around the corner Garak heard the voice again.
“Oh my, Garak.” the voice sounded appalled, concerned. Garak’s eyes focused on the figure that had made the sound. “Julian…” Garak croaked. There was relief in his voice even though it was barely audible. Just as Julian moved to receive Garak, Dukat reached across and slammed the tailor’s head into a nearby bulkhead. The load cracking sound was ominous.
Julian grabbed Garak gently under the arms and turned to Dukat. “THERE WAS… NO… CALL… FOR THAT!” the look in Julian’s eyes was pure venom.
“Why Doctor, you wouldn’t have me turn this traitor over without some souvenir of his time here?” Dukat replied in his mock pleasant voice. “What type of host would I be then?”
Julian didn’t bother to reply, “Bashir to Sisko. Two to beam directly to sickbay.” As if Garak had not been in bad enough shape, Dukat had to bash his skull into a wall. As the blue ionizing light took over and the interior of Dukat’s ship shift to the familiar scene of the Defiant’s sickbay Julian left all the anger behind. He became the doctor; there was a patient that needed his help.
“Help me get him on the biobed, then get him hooked up to nutrients and blood.” as Julian said this he began to move the limp Cardassian onto the bed.
“Doctor Bashir, we don’t have Cardassian blood onboard.” the nurse replied as she began the nutrients flow.
“I synthesized some on the way here. Its in the lab.”
“Yes, sir.” she hurried off to get the needed blood.
Doctor Bashir took a moment to scan his patient and catalog the injuries before starting to fix the most dangerous ones. The nurse returned with the needed blood. “I started the computer on synthesizing more.”
“Thank you. Bring in a kit for sexual assault injuries, and while you’re out there inform the rest of the staff that I am not to be disturb until further notice.”
The nurse moved off without a word, she was efficient and professional. Whatever horrors were evidenced by the patient’s injuries would remain unexpressed. Julian had got the hemorrhaging around the Broca and Wernicke region of the patient’s brain stopped by the time the nurse arrived with the rape kit.
“Nurse, if you will help me position the patient so that I can attend to his internal injuries. Be very careful with his head. Then I want you to monitor his vitals carefully. He’s suffering from severe shock and I don’t want him going comatose if we can prevent it.” with that said Julian began to repair the extensive internal damage to the patient’s lower digestive system.
…
The captain had waited patiently for a report from his CMO, but enough was enough “Sisko to Bashir.”
“Nurse Rodgers here. What can I do for you Captain?” the nurse responded promptly and pleasantly.
That was unexpected “I need to talk Doctor Bashir immediately.”
“I’m sorry, but the doctor is in surgery and left explicit orders that he was not to be disturbed.”
Slightly irritated that he had not been informed of the status of the prisoner exchange and tired of sitting ideally in Cardassian space Sisko replied with restraint “Can I assume the patient is the person we are here to retrieve?”
“Sir the patient is Mr. Garak.” the nurse was perplexed by the strange happenings surrounding him.
“Thank you. Sisko out. Chief O’Brien beam our prisoner over to Dukat’s custody. And, then lets get the hell out of Cardassian space.”
“Aye, sir.” Chief O’Brien and Nog replied in unison.
“Commander Worf, you have the bridge. Dax, you’re with me.” the captain moved towards the turbolift with Dax at his side.
“Aye, sir.” Worf moved to take the captain’s chair.
…
The captain was pensive, not a good sign. “So, Benjamin, what’s on your mind?” Dax inquired cautiously.
A sigh “Starfleet Intelligence wants me to ascertain the circumstances surrounding Garak’s abduction, and probable torture. They want to know what Starfleet secrets he told them.”
“Okay?” Dax replied knowing there was more.
Exasperation in his voice Sisko continued, “They don’t seem to care that Garak might not be in any condition to be questioned. They don’t give a damn about his condition. Don’t care whether he is okay or not.”
“I’m guessing they wouldn’t be acting this way if it was you or Worf or me.” Dax began to comprehend where this was going, and her anger was building too.
“Damn right old man. It’s because it’s Garak, because he’s Cardassian. It doesn’t matter to them that it is only because he is helping them that he got abducted, that he is risking his own life for us!” Sisko ended passionately.
There was a relieved silence that fell between them. “Well, if you put Garak’s wellbeing first, I’m behind you as is everyone on this ship.” Dax affirmed confidently.
“Thanks old man.”
“No problem.” Another pause before Dax continued, “Do you think he is okay?”
Another sigh, “It didn’t sound good.”
“No.”
“That’s why you’re here. If Garak’s condition is bad Julian is going to take it hard. Garak’s one of his best friends. I want you to be there for him. He will need the support.”
“You know I will, Ben.” Jadzia smiled sadly.
“I know.” They continued in silence the rest of the way to sickbay. Upon arriving a nurse, presumably Nurse Rodgers stopped them. “You… You will have to wait here.” The nurse seemed a bit flustered to be giving the captain orders.
“That’s fine. As soon as Julian is available I need to talk to him. Until then we will wait.” Sisko smiled reassuringly to put the nurse at ease.
…
They waited for nearly an hour before Julian came into the room. It was clear that the doctor was exhausted. “You have a few minutes.” was all he said.
With extreme care Sisko asked, “How is he Julian?”
“At the moment, stable. I’ve done what I can for now, his body experienced extreme trauma for an exten…” the doctor’s professional detachment was breaking down. Jadzia quickly moved to comfort Julian. She put her arm around him reassuringly, and steered him towards a chair.
“You don’t have to go into detail now Julian, just tell me the general situation.” Sisko intoned sympathetically. “What can I do to help?”
Julian took a stilling breath before answering, “I’ve done what I can for now. He has been through a lot. His body needs time to heal. There are several none critical wounds that I still need to deal with, but they can wait. And I will need to do surgery to remove an implant from his chest, but that will have to be after he has recovered.” Julian paused to take another calming breath. “And then there is the brain trauma…” Tears started to roll down his checks silently. “He… I don’t…”
“It’s okay Julian. You don’t have to explain. “ Jadzia hugged Julian a little tighter as she tried to sooth him. After a short time he began to move, “I need to get back to work.”
“Julian, I think you need some rest first. Can your nurses handle…” the question died on her lips as she saw Julian’s expression, “Well, I’ll bring you some tea. You need to a keep yourself strong in order to help Garak.” She went to the replicator as Julian moved back towards the inner room of sickbay.
“I’m going to head back to the bridge.” Sisko addressed Jadzia. “Look after him, don’t let him push himself to hard.”
“I will. And, I’ll keep you updated about Garak’s condition. I don’t think Julian is in any condition to do so.”
“No, I don’t think he is.” Sisko’s expression was one of concern. “I’ll keep the bastards at Starfleet Intelligence at bay!”
“I think that will be most helpful, and I know both Garak and Julian will appreciate your efforts.”
“Thanks, old man. You are…”
“I know. Now get out of here, so I can tend to Julian.” she admonished teasingly to lighten Benjamin’s mood. As Sisko left she retrieved the tea and stilled herself for what was to come. She walked into the inner room and stopped dead. She hadn’t been prepared for the sight that greeted her. Julian was standing beside the Cardassian’s bed, holding one of the limp grey hands tenderly.
Garak looked terrible. His face was a mass of swollen bruises and cuts. He was pale and skinny. There was a large section of his head that had been shaved and a large bandage was now covering the area. A respiratory aid was over his mouth and a myriad of tubes and other medical equipment was attached to various parts of his body. Jadzia vaguely recognized some type of tissue regenerator that had an attachment that ran up under the sheet at Garak’s waist. She decided that she didn’t want to think about what any of the equipment was for right now.
As she walked around to the other side of the bed from Julian she gasped audible. Garak was laid on his side and Jadzia now knew why. His back resembled nothing more than a shredded tapestry. The wounds were of various age and type, but none of them seemed to be bleeding freely at the moment.
“I know. I’m about to start repairing them.” Julian said in response to Jadzia’s gasp. “I had to deal with the worst of the damage first.” Jadzia simply nodded; there was nothing she could think to say. Julian carefully placed the hand he was holding back on the bed, and walked around to where Jadzia stood.
Jadzia quickly offered him the tea, “Drink this before you get started, it will help your concentration.” He took the proffered tea and drank a few sips before placing it on a nearby table and picking up a muscle regenerator. Jadzia moved to the other side of the bed to give Julian space to work. As he worked Julian began to vent to Jadzia. He talked about all the injuries that Garak had sustained, and the recovery process involved. As Jadzia listened she couldn’t help but think that it was going to be a long time before the charismatic tailor was back with them, if ever. She felt a pang of loss at the thought and picked up the man’s hand. She stroked it comfortingly even though she knew the unconscious Garak had no inkling of her actions.
The one injury that Julian had not mentioned was the one to the side of Garak’s head. He seemed to be avoiding the topic. Jadzia was curious why, but knew better than to ask. It was obviously troubling Julian more than the other damage for some reason. He would tell her in his own time. “Jadzia, I need to attend to abrasions in more sensitive areas. I just thought you should know so that you wouldn’t be surprised.” Julian seemed a bit hesitant to continue his work.
“It’s okay Julian. It won’t bother me; I am a professional. Anyway, I don’t think I should leave you alone right now.” She encouraged him to continue.
He relaxed a little, “Thank you… for the company.” He moved to continue his ministrations then paused again. “If you don’t mind, I think Garak would prefer if some things remained private. So…”
Jadzia reassured the doctor, “I won’t look. I’ll keep my attention elsewhere.” She made a point of examining the monitor above the biobed to emphasize the words. Slowly Julian pulled the blanket up to cover Garak’s upper body and then folded the remaining length to expose the lower body.
Jadzia was finding it hard to continue to stare at the monitor screen. As she moved to refocus her attention somewhere else in the room she caught a glance of Garak’s thighs. She couldn’t help but look. The backs, insides and outsides of his thighs matched his back. She then noticed were the tissue regenerator she saw earlier went. What had they done to him? That must be were the internal damage Julian had mentioned earlier was located. But, to need prolonged use of a tissue regenerator to repair the damage, Dukat must have done more than just brutally rape Garak. She tore her gaze away and stared at the face of the man that had been so abused, tortured. She vowed to help him in anyway she could. She picked up his hand and resumed stroking it comfortingly.
Julian hadn’t realized that Jadzia had seen. He was so focused on repairing the damage. An hour later he pulled the blanket back down to cover the Cardassian fully, “That is all I can do for now.”
“You should go get some rest then. I will stay with Garak while you do.” Jadzia encouraged. The poor doctor looked exhausted, both mentally and physically.
“I think I will get some rest, but I’ll stay here. The biobeds are quite comfortable really.” Julian moved towards a bed.
Well better than nothing Jadzia thought, “I’ll wake you if anything changes. Get some rest.”
A huge yawn, “Thank you. I… will.” Julian barely got the last word out before succumbing to a deep sleep.
…
By the time the Defiant reached Deep Space Nine the doctor looked considerably more rested and Garak’s vitals had improved significantly. The Cardassian was in good enough condition that Julian felt comfortable transporting him directly to the infirmary’s quarantine room. He had decided to use the room in order to give Garak as much privacy as possible. It wouldn’t do to have random people coming in to see the unfortunate Cardassian.
Over the following days Jadzia was wonderful. She was there for Julian and she helped tend to Garak. She had become very protective of Garak, actually. Julian wondered vaguely about the change, but he appreciated it more, so didn’t think about it too much. He had finally managed to tell Jadzia about the events surrounding Garak’s head injury, and expressed his concerns about the possible problems it could cause. He also finally managed to submit a full report to Captain Sisko regarding Garak’s condition. Sisko then explained to Julian about Starfleet Intelligence and assured him that he wouldn’t let them near Garak until Julian felt he could handle the questioning. Julian was relieved and heartened by Sisko’s efforts.
On the third day Garak regained consciousness. Jadzia was with him when he began to stir. “Dax to Bashir.”
“Bashir here. What’s wrong?” Julian was surprised to be paged by Jadzia.
“I think Garak’s coming to.”
“On my way. Bashir out.” Julian almost yelled as he began running in the direction of the infirmary. He entered the quarantine room slightly out of breath before Garak had even opened his eyes. He immediately examined his patient’s condition. Julian was injecting a hypospray of painkiller when the blue eyes began to open. It was a little early, but it would be better if Garak was as comfortable as possible upon waking. He then turned all his concentration towards the waking Cardassian. “Garak, can you hear me?” Julian asked softly.
Garak looked at Julian, but didn’t seem to comprehend. There was a long moment while he just stared at Julian, then he suddenly sat up and moved to pull the doctor into an embrace, but was unable to complete the motions. He nearly fainted. Julian reacted quickly; supporting Garak and slowly easing him back down onto his side. “You need to rest. You’ve been through a lot and your body needs time to recuperate.”
Garak looked at Julian without comprehension. He moved his mouth, but didn’t say anything. After a few minutes tears started trailing down his cheeks. Julian had been waiting, hoping Garak would say something or show some sign of understanding what was said to him. Upon seeing the tears he sat on the bed and grasped the tailor’s hand. He rubbed it in a comforting manner while murmuring soothingly to Garak. Slowly the flow of tears began to stem. Once the tears had stopped completely Julian stood in order to access Garak’s condition more fully. At this there was a small whimpering sound from his friend. “I’m not leaving, I just need to…” it was clear that the terrified Cardassian didn’t understand a word Julian was saying. He stopped talking and sat down on the side of Garak’s bed, thinking. COMING SOON:
CHAPTER 2
2 - Shaky Ground - 2
