~*~ Unexpected Spock and Kirk! Not quite sure why I did a pov switch in this chapter, but I'm sure there's a reason. Actually, I do know the reason. By the end of the chapter, I'm pretty sure you will too.
Warnings: Don't think so.
Musical Muse: Nada
Disclaimer: The putting-words-into-sentences-and-feels thing is mine, but nothing else is.
Have I mentioned how wonderful my beta is? And all the lovely people who reviewed? Amazeballs, all of you.

~*~After~*~

"So...why are we letting this guy go again?" Kirk was looking through the small one-way mirror on Khan's transport cell. A month in captivity hadn't changed the terrorist physically, even if in the meantime Kirk had awoken, recovered (extraordinarily quickly, once he was conscious) and was back in command as he should be...and looking for a bit of an explanation as to why Khan and all of his crew were being allowed to live. Normally he would have been understandably against killing lots of people, but after certain events he wasn't feeling as generous as he barely normally was.

"It is my belief that he has been punished enough. He was quite distraught until I assured him that his crew was still alive." Spock said evenly. He was still acutely furious at Khan, (and how the hell Kirk exactly knew that, he had no idea) but was quite calm at the moment. "The only punishment that would be suitable for him would be further separation from his crew, and that, I'm afraid, would only serve to make him more dangerous." A slight pause. "He has been kept from them long enough. Putting him back to sleep and them all into guarded storage is the only logical step that calls for the least amount of damage to everyone.

"But I just...don't get it! I mean, a captain caring for his crew is one thing, but this-!" Kirk gestured at Khan and the surrounding warehouse. After much debate from all sides, it was agreed that Khan should be put back to sleep with his crew, but only after - Khan had specifically demanded this - he had checked all the tubes to ensure his people were still in prime condition. And they would all remain so until the future date they were awoken.

Kirk really hoped that time wouldn't come soon, if ever.

Spock sighed in that long-suffering way he did when he was forced to explain something to someone of inferior intellect. "When Khan and I were...fighting" - a rather graceful way for him to describe an event that Kirk understood was very close to a no-holds-barred beatdown - "I melded my mind with his." At Kirk's unbelieving glance he elaborated. "It was an attempt to weaken him. Even someone of superior strength and increased intellect has mental vulnerabilities that can be used against him." He paused again. "I'm afraid to say I found one and used it quite effectively against him."

To Kirk's annoyance, he stopped speaking when the heavily-armed guard approached the transport cell to release Khan. The terrorist had been unusually complacent over the last few weeks, perhaps because he knew any further antics would cost him his crew or earn him another fight with Spock. Kirk wouldn't dare ask Spock if perhaps he was just tired of fighting; as he told Admiral Marcus, he should have been left asleep.

The heavy metal doors opened, and Khan stepped out. His hands were bound before him, and he made no move to escape or even look at Spock and Kirk. He only had eyes for the cryo cells laid out before him. His guards trailed behind him as he stepped deliberately to the first tube, then the next. His lips quietly moved in time with his steps, and Kirk realized he was counting. Up one row and down the other, he quietly checked that his crew was accounted for.

He paused next to one tube, indistinguishable from the others. "Why has this one been opened?" He spoke quietly, but there was a dangerous edge to his words.

"We placed Captain Kirk in that tube to save his life." Spock spoke with assurance, daring Khan with his eyes to question his call. "Your crewmate was placed in a medical coma and later returned to his cell in full condition. He was unharmed in any way."

Khan didn't look up from his crewmate's face. "Is there any particular reason you chose this tube?" He sounded as though he was barely containing his anger now. Kirk was almost tempted to step away. He had seen Khan's wrath before, when he had crushed Admiral Marcus' skull like a peach, but this was more, deeper. Kirk wondered if this is what Spock had looked like when he thought he had died.

"It was simply the closest at hand. And I assure you, your crewmate is still in prime condition." Spock paused again, a much deeper silence than before. He was considering something. His next words were much quieter. "Had I known the identity of the inhabitant, or had been there myself, I would have asked for another be used."

"It wouldn't have made a difference!" Khan snapped. He knelt next to the tube to examine the container, and check the vitals monitor on the side. "Any tampering of the tubes could cause serious harm the inhabitants, and for any of them to be harmed Is Not Acceptable!" He was screaming now, face red and distorted with anger.

"You would have done the same!" Spock snapped back. Kirk's gaze jumped from one angry man to the other, amazed at seeing his friend so unsettled. Usually Kirk was the only one who could do that, but there was Khan, with whom the Vulcan seemed to have an understandable vendetta against, who managed to anger him like Kirk had never seen before. Khan looked pretty pissed too, but had noticeably flinched at Spock's words.

After another pause (he really did that a lot) Spock's next words were quieter. "If the situation were reversed, I have no doubt you would have done the same. We never had nor will have any intention to harm your family."

What exactly did he learn from that mind-meld? Kirk wondered. He had no chance to ask while Khan checked the vitals again, keeping one hand pressed to the glass shield over his sleeping crewmate's face. At long last, he stood. Khan stared at the tube one last time before moving on to continue his check of the rest.

Spock walked over to the tube Khan had spent so much time beside. Kirk trailed after him. Looking down at the frozen face, he didn't see anything notable about this so-called super-powered being. He was normal-looking, not overly handsome like Khan was probably supposed to be, dark blonde hair over a sleep lined face. Entirely ordinary, and yet his removal from the cryo tube angered Khan like nothing else before. Kirk glanced at Spock to see him looking down as well, with a very troubled expression.

"So...who's this guy?" Kirk glanced over at Khan, but he was far enough away that he wouldn't hear, unless he had super hearing. He probably did, but Kirk went on anyway. "Is he really all right, or was that just some Vulcan bullshit?"

That earned him a very interesting look from his friend, but Spock answered nonetheless. "He is indeed in perfect health, or as well as he can be while frozen and asleep. Your friend Doctor McCoy checked him to the best of his abilities, and given that Khan has awoken with no negative effects it is highly unlikely that this man will suffer any."

"And he is..." Kirk knew when Spock was avoiding his questions (he did it a lot), but damn it, he wanted an answer. Khan was now standing by his own tube, looking rather accepting of his fate now that his crew was all accounted for.

Spock looked him directly in the eye as he turned to go. "He was the medical officer of Khan's crew, an incredibly sympathetic and understanding man for someone so dangerous in battle. Khan...treasured him rather highly."

"Treasured him?...Wait, wait, Spock!" Kirk stumbled after his friend, trying to understand. Nasty mean old Khan, "treasuring" someone? Was that just Spock's language choice or did Khan...freaking treasure? "What does that mean?!"

"It means that Khan feels the same way about this man as I do about you." Spock rather stiffly admitted. "The mind meld was unpleasant for both of us and it was with great displeasure that I used this particular weakness against him, but at the time I felt no such hesitation." Kirk knew his mouth was hanging open even wider than usual, but good God...Spock was serious, he was actually serious.

He looked over at Khan, quite unbelieving, until he saw the expression on his face. Just like Spock, he was hard to read, but just with like Spock, Kirk knew this particular expression. It was vulnerable, the face of a man who had seen someone he cared deeply about in a bad situation, and was completely helpless to do anything about it. Kirk felt a stab of...not quite sympathy, but understanding.

Spock was right. If the situation were reversed - if Khan's doctor had been the one dying, Khan would have done the same thing.

~*~And that's the end! Much love to everyone who read this! Please review!