Author's note: I've never actually seen an ep of this wonderful show, I've only read the detailed transcripts of each of from Karen's Deepwater Black page, and read the fanfic kept there, and anyone could see the Reb and Yuna are an item just waiting to happen, so I just kinda helped them along a bit. The song near the end is one that I wrote late last year, if you want the full manuscript copy, just give me a buzz. Disclaimer: The characters, concepts and places of Deepwater Black used in this story are the property of the Sci-Fi Channel, YTV and Empire Entertainment. It is a non-profit piece of fun and no copyright infringement is intended.
Yuna watched the stars as they streaked by. She liked doing that, especially when she was alone on the command deck. She actually didn't mind taking night shift, she liked the solitude, just her, the ship and the stars to guide her. She often just sat back and watched the stars for hours at a time, just letting her mind wander. As always when she was daydreaming, her thoughts turned to Reb, her co-commander and comrade. She thought of the time he had kissed her, after Kyra had meddled with everyone's emotions. 'Did he really mean it?' she thought as the stars streaked by. Realising where her imagination was heading she mentally slapped herself and tried to concentrate on the pilot's console, she didn't need to be thinking about that right now. 'Diversion' she thought, 'think of something else' As if on cue, a klaxon blared in the background. Quickly scanning the space around them she realized there was an armada of ships in front of them. Over fifty, she counted.
"Yuna to crew, everybody up, we've got company!" switching off her communicator she turned her attention back to the controls. A few minutes later Reb stumbled onto the command deck, pajama's rumpled, hair sticking out at crazy angles and no shoes on his feet, closely followed by Bren, Zak, Lise and Gret, all in equal states of disarray. They all took their respective stations. The first wave of enemy ship started coming towards them.
"Bren, target those ship and fire when ready; Yuna, can you give us a bit of maneuverability?" Reb shot off.
"Hang on, it's gonna get rough!" Yuna called as she pulled the ship around in a series of maneuvers it was clearly was not designed for.
"Watch reactor 2, you're stressing it too much," Reb called to Yuna.
"Yeah, and if I don't, we end up spacedust," Yuna shot back at him. Reb could hear the determination in her voice. She was gonna get them out of this or she was gonna die trying.
"Got 'em," Bren shouted as one of the fighters disintegrated into a satisfying flash of subatomic particles.
"Yuna there's a break at 345276, can you get us through there and into hyperspace?" Reb shouted as he found a weak spot in the fighters attack.
"We'll see" She called back at him, determination set in her features. Reb glanced at her briefly to find her 'look of steal' etched into her features, 'makes her look older' he thought, then turned his attention back to his console.
Just as Yuna was about to take them into hyperspace when one of the fighters came at them again, lasers lashing out as it streaked by. Explosions could be heard echoing throughout the ship, the floor rumbling as the shields strained to absorb the fire. As Yuna corrected the course deviation that the fighter's blast had just caused the fighter came at them again, clearly taking revenge on the destruction of his comrade. The shields gave way under the first few volleys, already weakened by the first attack, and the fighter kept coming. An explosion rocked the command deck, smoke and fire filling the room.
"Yuna, get us out of here!!" Reb screamed in the direction of her console. There was no reply.
"Yuna, I said get us out of here!!!" Reb stumbled over to her console, unable to see through the think smoke.
"I'll do it!" Bren called as he re-routed navigation to his console and literally hurled the ship into hyperspace. After quickly scanning behind them he said
"Hostiles are not pursuing." The relief evident in Bren's voice.
The smoke was starting to clear and Reb could make out something on the floor in front of him. Kneeling down he reached out with his hands to find out what it was. His hand bumped into something warm, soft and sticky. Blood. It was Yuna's blood. The smoke was clearing even more now and he could make out her shape on the deck.
"Lise! It's Yuna, she's been hurt!" he yelled, as he tried to take in Yuna's condition. Her arms had been badly burned by the explosion, and she had a huge bruise on her temple where her head had connected with the deck. There was blood on her face and her hair had been singed. Lise dropped beside him, an emergency medical kit in her hands.
"My God" she said quietly as her scanner told her the real story--plasma burns, internal bleeding, severe concussion...the list went on.
"Reb, I need you to carry her to sickbay--but be careful not to touch her ribs, they're broken on so many places I've lost count of the pieces. Bren, looks like you're the pilot for a while. Gret, I'm gonna need your help." Reb gingerly picked Yuna up, gently cradling her in his arms and headed towards the hatch, Lise and Gret behind him.
Lise snapped into professional mode as they neared the medical bay, trying to force her personal feelings out of the way.
"Gen, I need you to continuously monitor Yuna's vitals, and display on monitor 4C. Gret, get the burns unit, and prep the surgical bed. Reb, I need you to talk to her, tell her to fight, tell her to hang on. Give her something to focus on other than her pain."
"Can she hear me?" Reb asked as he lay Yuna on the surgical table.
"I think so. Just keep her anchored here, in the present. If she goes into a coma we might not be able to pull her out again," Lise replied. Her mind reeled at the extent of her friends injuries.
"Lise, I'm ready here" Gret shouted
"Pulse, 80, Respiration, 40, blood pressure 80 over 50 and falling, temp 38 degrees C," Gen intoned. "Lise, I suggest you repair Yuna's ribs before trying to repair her burns."
"Right--Gret sterilize the field, I'll get scrubbed, " Lise shouted as she ran into the adjoining room, pulling on a surgical gown, gloves and facemask.
"Hang on Yuna, don't leave me now, I need you. We all need you, " Reb said as he stroked her jet black hair. Lise came back out, clad in blue surgical gown.
"Gret, 10 cc terradine. It'll keep her asleep" Gret grabbed the injector and pressed it into Yuna's neck.
"OK, this is gonna get ugly" Lise said as she readied herself. "Reb, can you monitor her? Gen, help me out here, I'm gonna need some assistance. Gret, laser scalpel."
3 hours later the major surgery was over. The broken ribs had been set and healed, and the internal bleeding stopped. Lise breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the medbay hatch. Reb was sitting against the wall of the corridor.
"Okay Reb, you can come in now."
Reb cautiously approached the bed, where he found Yuna looking in one piece, pale but alive. He had always hated the sight of blood, and the thought that it was Yuna's blood did nothing to help the situation. He had kept his eyes solely on the monitor, calling out her vitals every 2 minutes, his mind preoccupied with losing the one person who understood him, the one person he loved. Lise went over to the monitor Gen had set up and checked Yuna's vitals for herself.
"Gret, can you setup a blood transfusion while I start treating her burns. Reb, the terradine should be starting to wear off, see if you can bring her round by talking to her. Tell her she's not alone, and that we love her, give her something to come back to."
Gret scurried away to get a transfusion set up, Lise started waving the regeneration rod over Yuna's burnt arms, and Reb moved cautiously over to the head of the bed.
"Yuna, I hope you can hear me, you have to come back to us. Where would we be without your wild hyperspace maneuvers to keep up on our toes. Please come back to us." Reb glanced at Yuna's eyes, trying to see movement. Nothing.
"Lise, there is an infection setting in, lower left arm, temperature now 38.9 degrees Celsius. I suggest you treat it with cordrazine," Gen said.
"Right." Lise grabbed an injector and filled it with the drug, then injected it into Yuna's arm.
"Any change?" she asked
"Negative, infection had taken hold." Gen intoned.
Lise heaved a sigh. "Great." Sluggishly she began to examine the area, exhaustion weighing heavily on her eyelids.
"Lise, you did your best. But Gen is right, we did all we could, it's up to Yuna now," Gret said, gently touching her shoulder.
"Gen monitor Yuna's condition and inform me of any change," Gret said, as she gently steered Lise towards the adjoining room so she could change.
As Lise was changing, Gret grabbed a cup of steaming hot chocolate from the food synthesizer and handed it to Lise.
"You've done all you can Lise, you saved her life. She just has to accept it back again. But then again, Reb might make her think otherwise," Lise managed a small smile at the remark. Everyone knew that Reb and Yuna's sparring sometimes got out of hand. They were almost a couple at one point in time, and total enemies a minute later.
"Look, why don't you try and get some sleep, you must be exhausted," Gret said.
Lise nodded, she was tired. It was amazing what 3 hours of surgery could do to you. She checked Yuna's vital signs once more before turning and walking out of the room. Meanwhile Gret had joined Reb at Yuna's bedside.
"How is she?" Reb asked as she approached him.
"She's stable for the moment, comatose. There's nothing we can do but try and convince her to come back."
"You mean she has to choose, between dying and here?" Reb asked.
"She's at what some people call the crossroads. If the pain is too great, she may give in, but if the desire to live is strong, then she'll some out of it and come back. But you have to help her choose. To be honest Reb, you may be her only lifeline. You have to convince her not to give in to the pain and fear. It's up to you Reb. She's counting on you."
With that, Gret left medbay for the Command Deck to tell the rest of the crew.
Reb didn't move a muscle, he couldn't. He was terrified that if he left her side, she would give in and die on him. He wouldn't let that happen.
"Yuna, listen to me. I know wherever you are hurts, and you just want to let go for a while, but you can't. You have to fight this thing. If we can survive your wild flying, you can get through this. We need you too much, I need you." He paused in hesitation as he ran the words in his head again. "I love you Yuna. I wish I had said it to you sooner, made you understand how I felt. But I couldn't, I was scared you'd make one of your crazy jokes and avoid it or something. But I love you Yuna, more than anything I've ever known. I don't know what I'd do without you." Tears rolled down Reb's cheek as he finished. He glanced around and spied a chair in the corner. Grabbing it he sat down beside her bed, and took her hand in his. Then he had an idea.
"Gen, do you have a cultural database of Earth music?" He asked
"Yes," Gen answered.
"Play something...soft, moving, like something from the late 20th, early 21st century perhaps," Reb said. His donor had liked the music from that era, and some of those memories had come to him in a prex not long ago. Gen took a moment to process, then the music flowed form the speakers, a piano backing a sole female voice.
When it's dark and stormy outside and you look into my eyes,
You'll see a love that never falters and a love that bears no pride,
Because love is everlasting, and love will stand the test,
When you stand in close beside me, I know our love is best.
Now the snow is gently falling but the fire's burning bright,
And you're snuggled in beside me and I feel the time is right,
So right. Everlasting, never ending, together forever, not condescending,
We'll be together, together forever more.
Because love is everlasting and love will stand the test,
When you stand in close beside me, I feel our love is best.
The song faded from the speaker and Reb wiped a tear from his eye. His future with Yuna flashed before his eyes. When they got home, he would take her down to Earth, down to a log cabin one of his ancestors had built in the mountains, near a flowing steam. He could see her there, wonder in her eyes as she saw snow for the first time, huddled under a blanket by the fire in a viscous snowstorm, and laughing as they got into a snowfight. His head drifted down to the bed as his eyes closed, dreaming of a future life together.
'Gods this hurts!!' Yuna thought. The pain filled her world, and she knew nothing but the pain. Every now and then she could hear something, a voice. Reb's voice. It was saying things like, "Fight it, don't leave, and come back to us."
'I'm so tired' she thought, I might just rest for a while. Then she heard something else, a song was playing, a love song, saying things about eternal love and snow and storms, then Reb saying that he loved her. 'He loves me, he really loves me' she thought, then she knew what she had to do. It was light someone had lit up the path in the darkness, pointing a way home for her. She had to get better, she had to do it for Reb.
"Lise, Yuna's condition has improved," Gen said, as she materialized in Lise's quarters.
"Huh, what?" Lise slurred as she was woken from her restless sleep.
" Yuna's condition has improved, would you like me to list her vitals?"
"Yeah, um sure." Lise rolled out of bed, shaking the nightmares from her head.
"Pulse 60, respiration 25, blood pressure 90 over 70 and steady, temperature 37.6 degrees Celsius."
"Thanks Gen" Lise called as she headed down to the medical bay. She bumped into Gret in the corridor.
"You heard?" she asked.
"Yep, I'm heading down there now," Lise answered.
As they entered the medical bay they saw an unusual sight. Reb was asleep in a chair beside Yuna's bed, her hand in his. He looked peaceful and content being close to her, not like he usually was.
Gret walked over to Reb and gently shook him awake.
"Reb, it's Gret."
"What? Huh?" Remembering where, he was he quickly asked, "What happened? Is she all right?"
"Don't worry Reb, she's come out of it," Lise asssured him as she checked Yuna's vitals. A moan from the bed caused them all to turn around.
"Ugh, Reb did you catch that shuttle that hit me?" Yuna mumbled as she came back to full awareness.
Reb jumped out of his chair and stared into her blue eyes.
"Hey, welcome back flygirl," he said, not afraid of using her private nickname in front of his friends.
"Like I would let you pilot the ship home all by yourself," she replied weakly.
"Yeah, well we'll see about that later, you just get some rest okay?" he said. Her eyes drifted closed again, and he kissed her forehead just as they did, a smile creeping onto her lips as she drifted off again.
Reb turned and left the room, a huge grin on his face. She had come back to him!
Meanwhile Lise and Gret were standing to the side wondering what the heck went on while they were out. Then Lise had an idea.
"Monitoring video" she squeaked with delight as she ran back into the adjoining room. Pulling up patient monitoring records on the viewscreen.
"This should be fun," she giggled.
If you want more, you'd better tell me what you thought of this one. I always thought it would take a near death experience in one of them to get those two together. Now I just gotta figure out what to do with them!