Chapter Three: The Lion and the Mouse

Every family had its own unique dynamics and dysfunctions. Kahn's was no different, though he wished he could say it was.

They had been traveling in deep space for a little over a week and Ericsson, his weapons specialist, was already challenging him at every turn. Not overtly, but with seemingly harmless remarks that cut Khan deeply. Otto, his first officer, was too busy flirting with every woman on the ship to mind his duties. Only the steadfast Joachim, The Paladin's navigator, was focused on his task. "Kati," Joaquin said to the beautiful blonde sitting next to him at the helm, "coffee later—in my quarters."

Khan rolled his eyes, then reproached himself for being too strict. They had all been asleep for so long, it was natural for his crew to want to reconnect. Perhaps an informal gathering would be in order.

The idea was well received by the crew, as Khan expected, so the celebration was planned for the following evening. Everyone was dressed in casual but attractive attire made to accentuate their perfected forms. Khan was dressed in a torso-hugging black shirt and trousers. He stood at the edge of the room with an all-but-forgotten drink in his hand. He was gratified that the others were taking full advantage of the event, but he was still on edge. He wouldn't be able to relax until they had found their new home.

Salma Madrigal approached him wearing a low-cut red dress that showed off her bosom to its greatest advantage and placed her hand on his chest. "I have missed you, my lord. Why have you not visited my quarters?"

The voluptuous Spanish woman was a deadly assassin Khan had employed on several occasions. During the war between the Augments she was one of his staunchest supporters. He touched her flawless brown cheek. "Forgive me, I've had so much on my mind lately. I promise to visit you soon."

She pressed her body against him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Why wait? Tonight is for enjoying each other. Come to me after the fête is over."

"Perhaps," he said a bit more coolly than he had intended. Salma tossed her silken black tresses back in irritation and left his side for easier prey.

Out of the corner of his eye Khan saw a small figure slowly enter the mess hall. Dr. McGivers looked awkward and uncomfortable as if she didn't know if she was welcome or not. She had dressed for the occasion in an off-the-shoulder black frock with her red hair arranged in French braids. Khan thought she looked quite fetching (for an inferior human woman, that is), but as she looked around the room at her betters, she crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders. With a sigh, she made for the refreshments table and got a drink. Her hand was trembling as she took a sip.

Otto, his cheeks flushed from a little too much alcohol, sauntered towards her. "My, my, look at how pretty our pet is tonight."

McGivers gave him a nervous smile and mumbled, "Thank you." She turned to stare at the refreshments table, apparently hoping Otto would move on, but he wasn't finished teasing her yet.

"Come now, Pet, I know you can be friendlier than that." Otto spun her around and lifted her onto the table so that they were almost eye-to-eye. "There, that's better," he said, playfully tapping her on the nose with his finger. "Tell me Pet, have you been bedded before or must I break you in?"

Everyone around them began to laugh, except McGivers whose cheeks colored a deep red with embarrassment. Khan thought he also noted a trace of fear in her eyes.

"Have a care when you take her, Otto," Ericsson said boisterously. "You wouldn't want to snap her in two."

The rising panic in McGivers' face touched a chivalrous cord in Khan's soul. "Otto! Leave her be, that's an order."

Otto stepped back from Dr. McGivers, who gave Khan a look of stunned gratitude. She climbed off the table and rushed out of the mess to return to the safety of her infirmary, no doubt.

The gathering ended several hours later with the crew members on duty returning to their stations and the rest pairing up for the night. Otto had regained his good cheer soon after the rebuke from the captain and left with Joachim and Kati. Khan considered paying Salma a visit, but thought better of it. He wasn't in the mood for her possessiveness tonight. He knew she would like nothing better than to be his wife, but the beautiful assassin was far too treacherous for him to ever trust her fully.

As he made his way to own quarters he passed by the infirmary and stopped, wondering if he should check on Doctor McGivers. Why he cared about her feelings, Khan didn't know. Perhaps it was all that nonsense about her father being protective of her. Inferior humans were so very fragile; their lives could be snuffed out in an instant with the twist of an Augment's wrist, something the doctor was well aware of. He couldn't afford to have McGivers in constant fear—it could affect her performance as ship's doctor. He pressed the buzzer at her door and waited.

When McGivers opened the door she was holding a cricket bat she had replicated. Did she honestly think such a weapon would have any affect on him? "Put that away, Doctor, you could strike me with that a dozen times and not leave a mark."

The doctor nodded then leaned the bat up against the wall. She had changed into an unattractive pair of flannel pajamas and taken her hair out of the intricate braids. "It wasn't for you, Captain. I thought Otto might—thank you for rescuing me earlier."

"Otto is a shameless flirt," Khan said as mildly as he could. "He didn't mean you any harm, I promise you. As long as you do your duty, you have nothing to fear from my crew."

He watched as her whole body relaxed. "Captain, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor."

Khan raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"You all are the healthiest group of people I've ever met," she said with a grin. "There's not much for me to do right now, so I was wondering if I could sit on the bridge—well out of the way, of course—and sketch your crew."

Khan smiled. "That is an excellent idea, Doctor. Your illustrations would help chronicle our journey."

"Thank you, Captain," she replied happily. "Please, call me Marla."

"Very well, Marla." Khan reached out to touch her hair, made wavy by the braids. "You should keep your hair down all the time, it's much softer this way."

The next day, Marla went to the bridge for the first time. She tried to stay close to the hull in order to keep out of the way, but it made it hard for her draw. She started when Otto approached her, but he merely smiled gently and gave her his chair. Fortunately it was quiet, so she was able to spend several hours on the bridge while the crew searched for a new home.

She sketched Otto chatting up Amanda at the science station and decided the first officer was far too handsome for his own good. Occasionally Joachim and Kati stole glances at each other, so Marla did her best to capture the obvious affection between them. She didn't much like the way Ericsson was eyeing the captain's chair, as if he would claim it the moment Khan went to relieve himself. A foolish giggle escaped her lips, incurring a stern look from Salma at communications. Marla liked the way the Spanish beauty looked at the captain even less.

And then there was Khan. He was so lovely his very existence seemed an improbability. Had he known how giddy he'd made her when he had come to her room last night, he would have laughed in her face. She couldn't bring herself to sketch one line of him, not here where he could see it.

Several days later at dinner, Otto asked to look at her drawings, then took her to the captain's mess so Khan could see them as well.

Khan seemed to like them at first, but Marla noticed his expression becoming more annoyed with every page. "They're very good, Doctor. I especially like this one of Otto laughing."

"He's got lovely smile," said Marla, rather chuffed at Khan's compliment. "I just wish he wouldn't call me 'Pet'."

Khan closed the sketchbook and trained his piercing gaze on her. "You've captured the crew of The Paladin beautifully, but not its captain. Is that an oversight or are you deliberately trying to insult me?"

Marla was caught off guard, but she couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't make her look like a complete idiot. "I've already done a portrait of you, remember?"

"Yes, but it's still on Earth."

"Take me home and I'll give it to you," she said with a cheeky smile. Marla knew she had crossed a line when she could see the barely controlled anger in his eyes.

"You are hereby confined to the infirmary until such time as I say otherwise," Khan bellowed. "Play games with me, Doctor, and you will lose."

Marla returned to her quarters as ordered, swearing under her breath the entire way. As soon as the door to her room slid shut, she retrieved her other sketchbook from underneath her pillow. It was already almost filled with sketches of Khan with his god-like cheekbones and perfect lips, but she couldn't bear to show it to him. What if he didn't like them? What if he mocked her for her infatuation with him? She knew he was well beyond her reach and had decided it was safer to keep her yearnings to herself.

But she wanted back on the bridge. She needed the camaraderie of the rest of the crew however vicarious it was for her. Marla flipped to a sketch she knew Khan would like and brought out her colored pencils. When the drawing was finished, she replicated an appropriate frame for it, wrapped it in colored paper and a pretty black bow. Now all she had to do was wait until the captain came to the infirmary. Marla feared it would be a long wait, but the next evening Otto came to see her. "You have been a naughty little pet I hear," he said, wagging his finger.

She groaned. "For god's sake, Otto, please call me Marla."

"Very well, Marla, but you have been naughty. You must not provoke him unless you enjoy poking hornets' nests with wooden sticks."

Marla retrieved the portrait from her room and gave it to Otto. "It's a peace offering, please give it to the captain. Believe me, it was never my intention to offend him."

Otto immediately delivered the gift to the captain. Khan removed the wrapping to reveal a stunningly regal portrait of himself sitting in his command chair. He read the accompanying note:

Dear Captain,

May I come out of my room now? I promise to be a good girl.

Sincerely,

Marla

"An excellent likeness, Khan, do you not think so?" said Otto. "Please Captain, what is the harm in letting her back on the bridge to draw her little pictures? The crew likes them and you must admit she is somewhat amusing."

"She only did this portrait after I practically ordered her to do it!" He considered destroying it, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he had Otto put it in his closet, safely out of sight. Marla's attempt at soothing his bruised ego had failed. "Let her stay where she is."

With a sigh, Otto left the captain to tell Marla the bad news. "He thinks you drew it only because he is angry with you, not because you were inspired to do so. I know it seems he is only driven by cold intellect, but his is a passionate soul that demands to be worshiped. I am sorry."

When Otto left her, Marla didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This situation would almost be funny if it wasn't so serious. How could Khan ever think he didn't inspire her? She couldn't stop thinking about him for two minutes if she tried! There was only one thing for it, but she had no idea how he would react.

Khan had just stepped onto the bridge when he heard a voice paging him over the intercom.

"Captain to the infirmary…when it's convenient."

Doctor McGivers! Khan gripped the arms of his command chair in boiling rage, then made for the turbolift.

He marched into the infirmary with murder on his mind. "How dare you summon me!"

Marla cowered from him, then held out the sketchbook as if holding out a piece of raw meat for a hungry lion. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to give this to you. I should have shown it to you the other night, but I was afraid of what you'd think."

Khan snatched the sketchbook from her. It was filled with sketches of him from every conceivable angle and with every possible expression. There were whole pages dedicated to his eyes, lips and cheekbones. He raised an eyebrow at a rather accurate rendering of his bare torso.

"Oh," Marla said, blushing. "I'd forgotten about that one."

Khan gazed at her in confusion. "You did this since yesterday?"

"No, of course not! I've been working on it since that first day-look." At the beginning of the book was a drawing of him punching in the keycode on one of the cryo tubes. "I'd draw at night from memory or when I knew you weren't looking."

His expression softened considerably, but he was still angry. "Why?"

"I never felt like I did you justice," she replied, lowering her head. "I was afraid you wouldn't like them…and that you would think I was just a silly prat with a schoolgirl crush."

"You are a very stupid woman, Marla McGivers." She had no idea how close she had come to dying just now.

"It's been remarked upon," she said with a little smile. "Look at the last page."

He flipped to the end of the book to a cartoon of him glaring down at her as she handed him a wrapped present whilst hiding a cricket bat behind her back. At the bottom was the word 'Friends' with a question mark.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he began to chuckle.

"Please keep it, I've already started another one. I am so sorry, Captain. Please forgive me."

Khan felt the last vestiges of his anger leave him. "You may return to the bridge tomorrow. You deserve another day's punishment for calling me down here. Don't do it again unless it is warranted."

Marla nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir."

"And Marla, I'm glad to see you've kept your hair down as I asked." He smiled and stroked the hair that fell over her shoulders.

"Well it did sound a bit like an order. I didn't want to get thrown out of an airlock for putting my hair up."

"Oh, I won't throw you out an airlock," Khan said with a wicked grin. "At least not for that."

To be continued…

A/N: Thank you to everyone who faved or followed this story! Remember, reviews are like chocolate, please let me know what you think!