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The thing was, he'd never meant to get involved in a war.

The current government had sworn up and down that the planet was united, which meant that of course the Federation had wanted to swoop in and get the dilithium mineral rights nailed down. Planet that had just gotten out of a massive civil war, desperately in need of the funds to rebuild - it was like fucking catnip.

Leonard had said a couple uncomplimentary things about that strategy. Jim and Spock had noted his complaints and ignored them, which was probably the right call from Starfleet's perspective. Of course, if anyone had listened to him - and he was including the Admiralty in that - they might not be in this situation.

Yeah. Turns out that "united" and "totally at peace" and "not in a massive fucking civil war" were all very relative statements. Which is how Leonard wound up ducking through half-bombed buildings and trying desperately to figure out triage in a ridiculously dangerous urban warfare situation.

They hadn't even had a chance to start negotiations. It had all gone to hell that fucking quickly.

"Spock, do you have eyes on Jim?" Leonard snapped into his com.

"Yes, Doctor," Spock said. "We have managed to find cover in the central government building."

"Well, that's the first good thing I've heard since we beamed down," Leonard grumbled.

"Doctor, I can sense that you are moving away from our position," Spock said over the com. "Considering the current hostilities-"

"Considering the current hostilities, I've got shit to do," he said. Another bomb went off and he glanced up nervously. Jesus, the last thing he needed was to get crushed. "I think that one hit an apartment building. Shit. I'll get back to you, Spock. If you can get through to Scotty, tell him to get Medical ready to beam down a triage setup."

"Understood." Spock sounded stressed. Well, there were plenty of reasons to be stressed. Some days, when he was elbow-deep in an unfamiliar species' guts, he wondered when his heart would give up the ghost and just fucking explode on him.

Ugh. With Spock settled and more help probably coming, it was time to get out from the tiny bit of cover he'd found.

The bombings and phaserfights were more than enough to be getting on with. He'd managed to get a couple dozen people walking enough that they'd be able to make their way to the main government building, managed to hitch a ride to the worst of the fighting with a hovercraft-turned-makeshift ambulance. At least these people were amiable enough to being helped. He didn't have time to figure out how to establish trust with the rest of the shit going on.

He was bent over... some guy in a uniform, he hadn't really registered which one. He was more concerned with the multiple wounds from literal bullets, which was far enough out of his usual wheelhouse to require more than the usual concentration. He'd thought the guy was completely out of it, unconscious from shock or pain or hopefully recoverable blood loss, but that turned out to be less than true.

And the guy had a knife. He didn't even have the good manners to stab straight in. Instead he slashed long and wide and deep, so deep that he went right through the skin and into Leonard's more vital kind of organs.

"Fuck!" he groaned, the word punched out of him as his hand went down to try and stifle the bleeding. The guy was staring up at him, wide-eyed and horrified, and Leonard had just enough control of his body left to slump to the side rather than onto his patient.

Oh, God. This was not good.

After the initial bright, hot pain, he felt cold and numb all over. While that was good for his immediate concentration, it was not a good sign for anything else. Shock, probably. Or maybe a spinal cord injury. Either way, his odds had just gone from - from abysmal to fucking dire.

His com chimed. That would be Spock. He managed to reach around and get it out from his belt, flipping it open as close to his head as he could manage.

"Spock," he choked out. "Spock."

"Doctor, I felt that you were injured."

"No shit," he gasped. "Sharp force wound, incised but it's deep as fuck. We got that backup yet?"

"I have not yet been able to establish contact with the Enterprise."

"Okay," Leonard said. He shifted, trying to get the pressure over the entire wound. His arm was weak, trembling - that would be the blood loss - and he wasn't able to get the right angle.

And the guy was still fucking staring at him.

"Okay," Leonard said. "I've got - I'm not gonna make it long, darlin'. Severe blood loss and- Whatever. I've been - I've been sending people your way. We're gonna need at least two surgeons and three dozen nurses, plus supplies, if I'm f-figuring impact right. Might not be. Might be, uh, underesti- underestimatin'-"

"I am approximately 1.3 kilometers from your location," Spock said. "Your bond is fading from my perception. Please attempt to stay conscious."

"'S not like I've got much of a choice," he slurred. The dust-soaked sky was spinning above him. "Don' - Don' come, Spock. 'S a mess out 'ere."

"1 kilometer."

"Fast fuckin' bastard." The guy he'd been working on before he'd gotten fucking stabbed was standing above him now, face wavering in and out of focus. "No, you - you got shot. Get t'- You can't understand me, huh?"

"Doctor, what is going on?"

"'M not..." The guy pressed down on his too-weak arm, hard, and he let out a strangled scream.

"Doctor!"

"'M fine, 'm fine," he muttered, hoping that Spock's Vulcan hearing would be able to pick it all up. The guy was saying something, but he couldn't fucking understand it. This species' language was pretty, though. Kind of musical.

He blinked, and it wasn't the guy above him anymore. It was Spock.

"Stupid fuckin' hobgoblin," he breathed out.

"Leonard, I am attempting to administer medical treatment," Spock said. His hands on Leonard's arm felt hot, too hot. Leonard frowned. Either Spock was running a hell of a fever or-

Nah. It was the shock. It had to be the shock.

"Dermal regen?" he said.

"I cannot ascertain whether your organs have been punctured."

"Leddup." The order was clumsy, but thankfully Spock seemed to understand. He ceased the pressure, lifting Leonard's blood-soaked, sticky arm from the long, deep slash wound.

There was music coming from somewhere. Music or-

"Fuckin' bullet wounds over there," he said.

"Your condition is more immediately dangerous."

"Fuckin' bullets, Spock. Shit." Spock handed him his tricorder, and Leonard managed to aim it at the wound. The Vulcan took back the device, staring intently at the viewscreen. "You're - You're freakin' out."

"If I am reading your tricorder correctly, there is no danger of internal bleeding due to lacerations to your organs."

"Not laceration. Sharp force wound."

"Doctor."

"Fuckin'- Gimme the dermal." Spock ignored him, opting to use the dermal regenerator himself. Probably a good idea.

Things got even fuzzier after that. The dermal regenerator was good, but it wasn't that good. At some point Spock had scooped him up, and every footstep jostled his stomach wound and risked reopening it. At some point they were on a hovercraft. At some point Leonard got conscious enough that Spock tried to hold an actual conversation with him.

"Doctor, the other faction in this civil war is retreating," Spock said.

"Huh?"

"It seems that your efforts to treat the people of this planet directly affected the leaders of their faction," Spock said. "Since they were less inclined to consider the Federation's overtures, I expect that your participation will be necessary during the next stage of the negotiations."

"I'm a doctor, not a politician," Leonard muttered, hands trembling as he pressed clumsy fingers over the thick, regenerated scar tissue.

"Fortunately, Doctor, you are not required to be a politician," Spock said. "A diplomat, on the other hand..."

"Jesus, that's almost worse." He let his forehead fall against Spock's chest. The Vulcan was pleasantly cool, which meant that shock probably wasn't an immediate concern anymore. "Did you get the-"

"The emergency medical team has been sent down and is currently working to mitigate this crisis," Spock said. "Rest, ashayam. Your role in this has been completed."

"Says you," Leonard grumbled, but he was already half-way to obeying Spock's order. He was safe, relatively speaking. Backup was already down on the planet's surface and he was being carried by his lover.

Things were fucked, but he was safe enough to pass out again.

***

This fic is also available on AO3 if you prefer to read it that way. I hope you enjoyed it!