A/N: We left off at the harbour of Adelaide, where Khan was reunited with some of his family, only to be attacked by Mycroft's men. It has been a horrible fight, Molly in the mids of it, saved by Khan only to be used as a threat against Mycroft and Sherlock. In a dramatic scene Khan pulled her to the Yacht while she was calling out for Sherlock, who was trying but unable to reach her in time. With a blow to Molly's head the chapter ended.
The ship had sailed and once again, Sherlock and Molly are separated.

~oOo~

Strained voices stirred Molly from her forced upon sleep. A roaring headache greeted her as she slowly regained consciousness. With a moan she reached up to touch the spot where the pain had gathered and hissed as she felt the big bump at the back of her head. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the polished eggshell ceiling. Carefully, she turned her head, becoming aware of her surroundings. She was lying on a long brown leather couch in the luxurious lounge of a yacht, the clear blue sky visible through the long windows. The interior was mostly dark colours, dark wood on the walls and the floor, dark furniture (was that a bar separating the lounge from a dining room?), only lightened up with white curtains, carpets and some decorative items Molly didn't pay much attention to. Her focus was on the people she saw now, some of them still wearing the bright Hawaiian shirts.

The events of the morning finally bubbled up to the surface of Molly's mind and she closed her eyes in pain for a moment as Sherlock's desperate face appeared in front of her. Her heart clenched. They were separated again, maybe for good this time. Tears were welling up inside her, but the urgent voices reminded her that now was not the right time to cry for what had been robbed from her.

Lance's limp body was what she remembered next and this made her sit up, her eyes darting around. So many people were lying on the ground, the various chairs and tables pushed against the wall to make room, moaning from pain or already drifted off into unconsciousness. It was a pitiful sight and even in her own misery, her heart ached as she watched their suffering, the unharmed men and women kneeling beside them, trying their best to help.

Finally, Molly spotted the Asian Lance had saved. She was kneeling on the floor as well, pressing a towel against Lance's wound while she stroke his cheek, whispering to him. His eyes were closed.

Molly pushed herself off the couch, burying her own problems, and stumbled over to Lance, kneeling down beside the woman.

"How long has he been unconscious?" she asked, letting her professional eye look over him.

"For almost an hour", the woman replied and to Molly's surprise instantly made space for her.

"Has he gained consciousness in between?"

Molly touched the blood soaked towel and the woman let go of it.

"He stirred a few times, but never opened his eyes."

"Has it been the same with the others?"

"Yes."

Just as Molly wanted to remove the towel to take a look at the wound, her arm was yanked backwards and she was pulled off her feet, flying through the air and slamming against the shiny wooden wall of the yacht.

"You won't lay a hand on him!"

Angry blue eyes stared down at her.

Khan.

His face was furious as he held her wrist in a crushing grasp. For a second Molly thought he would break it.

"Let go of me!" Molly shouted and tried to shove him away, her free hand pressed against his hard chest. She felt his strong, fast heartbeat underneath her fingers and she dug her nails into his skin, the wish to rip this heart out of him being overwhelming for a moment.

Again, she saw Sherlock being held back by the soldier's, his face so desperate and frightened.

Khan was the reason why she wasn't with him, why she wasn't home in London, working her shift with Sherlock at the desk, running his own little experiments.

Tears stung in her eyes as the longing for freedom and normality turned into to this day an unknown fury and when Khan yanked at her hair, her hand instinctively shot up and scratched across his cheek.

Khan growled in surprise, let go of her and pressed a hand to his face. Molly glared at him as he removed his hand, looking at his bloody fingers. She had cut his skin, blood running out of the three scratch marks she had left his left cheekbone.

Their gazes locked, fury in both of them.

Molly's heart was beating so hard against her chest she was panting. She was afraid of him, of course, standing so strong and tall and furious. But she would be damned if she would budge an inch and let him see her fear. She'd rather die.

Just as she thought he would lunge at her again, two arms hooked into his and pulled him away.

"KHAN!"

It was the little Asian – little compared to Khan – who was pulling him backwards. Then she whirled him around, gripping his upper arms.

"We are dying! We need her!"

"She's the reason for it all!" Khan spat and wanted to turn around, but the woman's grip was tight.

"You were the one who kidnapped her. Yet she tried to warn us. If it hadn't been for her, we all would be dead now! You will leave her alone!"

"You're giving me orders?!"

"Yes! If you are losing control, I have to. I'm the highest ranked member if my Commander fails to fulfil his duties. Are you failing, Commander?"

A heavy silence fell upon the room. Even the moaning seemed to have stopped for a long, unbearable moment. Molly could only so much as guess what was happening now, but she understood it was a crucial moment for this group of genetically altered people. Khan's position as leader of this group was on the line.

She could hear him take a deep breath and when he looked up, his voice was calm.

"I am Commander of this unit, Makoto. I am in full control of myself. Are you questioning me, Lieutenant?"

It was as if the whole room let out a sigh of relief. Makoto let go of him at once.

"Of course not, Commander."

She emphasized his rank and stepped back. Khan nodded.

"Our people are dying, Commander", Makoto continued, "and I am asking permission to allow Doctor Hooper to have a look at our men and women."

Khan stiffened at her name, but didn't look at her. Still, Molly felt like all his focus was on her. Then he nodded.

"Thank you, Commander", Makoto breathed, obviously relieved, and her black eyes settled on Molly.

"What is your field of expertise, Doctor?"

Molly swallowed.

"Forensic pathology."

"Can you help us?"

"I don't know. But I will try."

Makoto smiled thankfully and together they went back to kneel beside Lance. Molly could feel Khan's tense presence and his stare when she finally lifted the towel off Lance's wound. His shirt was sticking to the wound, so she carefully picked up the fabric and tried to rip it further so she could have a better look.

"Allow me", Makoto said calmly and took the shirt out of Molly's bloody hands. Her hands were shaking, but she tore the fabric with ease.

After this was done, Molly wiped away the blood pouring out of the wound and examined the entry wound. She instantly noticed that something was wrong and frowned.

"What?" she heard Khan ask as he stepped forward.

Molly was too focused to be bothered by him at the moment.

"This entry wound…it's too big. And he's losing too much blood. It feels too thin. Is this normal?"

Molly asked Makoto, whose eyes drifted up to her Commander. Without hesitation, Molly followed her gaze.

Of course. Khan was bleeding at the moment. Apparently, no one of the other Augments had spilled blood yet.

Molly rose to her feet, wiping her hands clean at her cardigan, forgetting that she wasn't wearing a lab coat. She examined the scratch marks on Khan's face, doing everything to avoid looking at his eyes.

"The wounds have already closed and the marks are already fading. I don't know anything about your abilities, but I assume advanced self-healing is a part of it. I am fairly sure that Lance's wound shouldn't look like this."

She didn't look into his eyes when she spoke to Khan. So she missed the widening of his eyes.

He whirled around and picked up one of the machine guns they had captured during the fight. Pulling out the magazine, he broke it with his bare hand and caught the left over bullets with the other. They were golden with a clear head, containing a red liquid, which almost looked like blood…

…or exactly like it.

"The antidote."

All kinds of emotions rushed through his system as he realized that his crew and himself had become vulnerable.

"What?"

"The antidote was a threat, nothing more!"

"Impossible!"

"All our blood samples have been destroyed!"

Several voices spoke up, all of them tainted with fear. A fear that echoed within Khan. But he must be strong. Always be strong.

"Doctor Hooper, with me."

He rushed out of the lounge, barely leaving Molly time to follow. She caught up with him as he climbed the stairs to the 3rd deck where his cabin was situated.

He pushed the door open and went straight over to the lab station on the left side of his luxurious cabin and turned on several appliances and the laptop.

"Wash your hands. Bathroom is through the door on the right, next to the painting."

He didn't look at her, only heard her searching for the door which was disguised as part of the wall. She found it eventually, leaving several bloody hand prints on the shiny honey coloured wood panelling which he would clean up much later, and he listened to the water running while he emptied the red liquid onto a prepared slice.

When she finally stepped next to him, he had already put the rest of the sample into his analysis machine, the progress visible on the screen of his laptop.

"Take a look", he said and nodded to the electron microscope.

She sat down, still not looking into his eyes, and bent over, adjusting the lenses.

Khan turned his back to her, closing his eyes. The hands on his back were gripping each other painfully tight.

When Molly let out a gasp after what felt like eternity, his heart clenched.

Et tu, Brute!

Molly couldn't at first fathom what she was seeing through the lenses. This double helix…it was different. There were slight abnormalities, elements missing, or shifted…Her eyes glanced to the laptop, waiting for the analysis to be complete. When it was done and all the information was visible, she gasped. All the information she had gathered, all the passing remarks suddenly made sense.

She paled and the world stopped for a moment.

Then she heard his footsteps and she bolted out of her seat, stepping in front of the screen.

"It could be yours. It could be your blood", she hurried to say, pressing her small hands on his broad chest to push him away from the laptop and the horrible truth.

"I destroyed every blood sample there was", he replied angrily, pushing against her hands.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she used all the force she had.

"He didn't know. Maybe he didn't know. He would never do something like this."

"Not even to save the woman he loves?"

Both of them froze. Molly had his hands on his chest, his body heat seeping through his thin black shirt into her palms, the heartbeat beneath her fingers strong and quick paced. His eyes were wet, too, and she didn't dare to imagine how he must feel now, the betrayal of his twin brother right in front of his eyes. Khan's expression was blank though, the blue in his eyes gone paler than ever and his pupils being dilated.

"Please", she whispered helplessly, not knowing what else to say.

Don't let this come in between you. Don't hate Sherlock. He's your brother! Your twin brother!

"Sherlock has made his choice", Khan finally said, his eyes boring into hers, "he was the key to this weapon and he knew full well what it would do."
"What does it do? Why did they need Sherlock's blood?"

"Because it is the same as mine, Doctor Hooper."

"I don't understand."

They were still standing close, Molly still touching him. They weren't even aware. They were trapped in each other's orbit. Somehow, they held onto it. Everything seemed different when they were close, like a bubble shielding them from reality.

"Our genes were manipulated to be perfect, to withstand poison, disease, physical harm, ageing. We are smarter and stronger than anyone else on this planet. They created the perfect predators…predators they need to control. They installed some securities, but we managed to breech them and now we are running lose. When you can't control the dragon, what do you do?"

He paused and her eyes widened.

"You kill it", he spoke for her.

"But we are perfect and normal bullets would be dissolved from our antibodies while our wounds are being healed. They would need a hell lot of bullets to kill one of us, and they want to kill 74. If they can't kill us from outside, they must try from within. Destroy the evolution they have created. But in order to do so…", he said and finally pushed her out of the way. Molly didn't resist.

"They need a sample from one of us. They recreate the Augment, only to insert a self-destruct-button."

"How? This doesn't make any sense, Khan. Are you saying that Sherlock is an Augment, now?"

"No. Mycroft wouldn't allow it, even if Sherlock would have wanted to. 'Project Augment' is a failure. But he needed the genetic key to one of us to destroy us all."

"They could have reproduced it artificially. Surely they had your genetic specifics stored somewhere."

"'Had' is the right tense in this case, Doctor Hooper. The facility and the server on which this information has been stored has been destroyed, together with the leading geneticists of the project."

"You killed them", Molly gasped.

Khan didn't feel obliged to confirm.

"How many people have you killed yet? And how many more do you plan on killing?" Molly asked, afraid of the answer.

"I will kill everyone who stands between us and our freedom."

A tear escaped Molly's lashes and Khan's eyes followed its path down her pale cheek until it dropped on her soiled cardigan.

"He was right about you", she whispered, taking a few steps back, breaking through the electric field their closeness had created and back into reality, "you are a monster."

Khan straightened.

"I am part of a race which is being faced with the threat of extinction. We are fighting for our lives. You would do the same."

"I would never become like you!"

"Really?" he asked in amusement, "and what is this?"

He pointed at his cheek, the marks she had left there barely visible any more.

"You are just as violent as I am, doctor."

She shook her head, sniffing. No, she wasn't like him. She wasn't…

"There would have been a way to erase the information without killing anyone. You claim to be the smartest person on this planet, but all I see is a trapped tiger who's lashing out in fear. I can't see evolution in you at all."

There was half of the room between them now as they looked at each other for a long moment.

"So you will let us die?" he finally asked.

"No. I'm not a murderer. I will do what I can to save you. It's the right thing to do."

"Is it now?"

Khan smiled at her; the only intention of this smile being humiliation.

"Even if it causes the death of more people?"

Molly swallowed hard. In the end, she lowered her eyes and remained silent.

"Ah, morality. Isn't it a pitiful conundrum? It doesn't matter what you do, in the end, you won't save anyone."

Her eyes darted back to him and she pushed out her chin.

"This remains to be seen."

Khan's smile died and his expression became unreadable again. Once again, he felt the urge, this mysterious pull towards her. How did she do it? Being so small and weak, her body lacking any physical strength, but at the same time evaporating such a strength?

Ah yes, her eyes. These big, shining brown eyes that looked at him with such determination. Her strength was concentrated in her mind. Such a strong mind trapped in such a weak body...

He took a deep breath, his blood heating up and a tingling sensation spreading in his hands. Even now, with his family in danger, he wanted to reach out for her...not sure if to hurt her or...

"We are wasting time", Molly interrupted his train of thoughts, her eyes dark, and Khan realized that she was standing at the desk again, crouched to be able to flee if the need arose. Khan's heart beat faster.

Did she know what she did to him? Could she read him?

"Yes", he replied, his voice sounding cold.

Crossing the distance between them, he pulled up the sleeve of his left arm.

"We need to know what this antidote is capable of."

~oOo~

The cold steel against her cheek felt somewhat reviving as Molly leaned against the fridge, standing in the professional kitchen of her swimming prison, and looked at its content, forcing her heavy eyelids to stay open.

Water. She needed water.

Her throat was dry as a desert. Seeing the many bottles of water made her happier than she had been in weeks. She took one and left the fridge door open as she hungrily drank.

When you're really thirsty, there's nothing more delicious than still water.

Molly closed her eyes as she tilted her head back and almost tipped over. Her grip on the handle of the fridge saved her from falling.

Gosh, she was so damn tired. And she smelled. And her clothes were soiled with blood. And her skin was sticky from all the sweat that had poured out of her during these past 52 hours.

But they were safe. She hadn't lost one of them. Molly managed a little triumphant smile.

It might have been the greatest moment of her career. And it might cause the death of countless of other people.

Her triumph tasted bitter on her tongue now and she tried to wash it down with more water.

She closed her eyes and leaned against the fridge again.

Sherlock...

She wanted to go home. Now that it was over and the patients were stable, reality crashed down on her. She was trapped again, with people who had eyed her suspiciously or openly hostile while she had drawn their blood for the blood exchanges they were going to do. Not a permanent solution, but Khan and herself had come to the conclusion that this would have to do in this crucial situation. In the hour they had experimented on the antidote using Khan's blood, they had found out that a big amount of Augment blood could destroy the attacking antibodies. So Khan had gathered the unharmed crew members and together they had taken as much blood as possible.

Oh, how they had stared at her, Molly thought bitterly, feeling the tears well up in her eyes as she remembered those grey eyes glaring at her openly, an angry voice snapping at her. Khan had interfered when this man, Georg was his name, had called her 'Holmes' whore'.

Never had Molly been verbally attacked like this before. So...aggressively. It had shocked and frightened her, mostly because she hadn't spoken a word to this man before, not even looked at him, and yet he dared to speak to her like this, hated her so much.

What kind of people was she dealing with? Was Mycroft right, after all? Were they too dangerous to be alive and free? Did she just make the worst mistake in her life?

Sherlock!

God, why couldn't he be with her? Better yet, why couldn't she be with him? Why did he have to kidnap her yet again, this bloody bastard?! Hadn't she suffered enough?! She had done nothing to deserve this! She had co-operated on the Adelheid Berge, hadn't she? Damn it, she had warned Khan when they had been about to be attacked! And this is how he thanked her?

Fuck this! Fuck him! Fuck all of them!

With a sob, Molly fell to her knees and she made herself as small as possible, wrapping her arms around herself, the half drunk water spilling out on the white tiled floor of the kitchen.

No more, she thought helplessly.

She could bear no more...

Khan froze as a heartfelt sob greeted him when he reached the kitchen.

For a long moment he just stood there rooted to the spot, listening to Doctor Molly Hooper crying.

His jaw clenched. With every sob that fell from her lips, he felt dirtier.

Khan Noonien Singh had committed many crimes these past few months fighting for his freedom and the safety of his family. He had manipulated people, had threatened them. He had tortured the men and women who had tortured him. He had murdered them. Khan had done all these things and he looked back at them without feeling nothing but satisfaction.

But right now, standing in the little dark hallway, hearing this woman cry for all she's lost and had endured these past hours...

Kidnapping Molly Hooper for the second time felt like his worst crime.

She was innocent. She had nothing to do with this war. She was...good. The goodness poured out of her every pore. She had worked to exhaustion to save people she didn't know, some of them being openly hostile towards her, even.

Khan gritted his teeth as he thought of Georg. This had been his fault, too. He had noticed the hostility in his crew towards the gentle doctor, but hadn't done anything about it. And then Georg had called her a whore and Khan had seen the horrified look in Molly's face and for a second an unknown kind of anger had flared up in him and he had hissed at his Crewman to shut it and leave.
Thinking of it, Khan was still mad about this incident. Later, he would talk to Georg. This behaviour was unacceptable and he wouldn't tolerate it. Today, Molly Hooper had saved their lives. Today, Molly Hooper had proven that she was better than all of them.

Without causing a sound, Khan opened the swinging doors to the kitchen. He found Molly on the floor, balled up against the refrigerator, a plastic bottle spilling its content onto the white tiled floor.

Her sobs had stopped but she was hugging her body closely, her arms wrapped around herself and the legs pulled up. Several strands had loosened from her ponytail and were falling into her face. Khan thought she was sleeping, so he knelt down in front of her. But as soon as he reached out to brush these strands away, Molly flinched and her eyes flew open. They widened for a second when she recognized him and Khan swallowed down the familiar taste of bitterness. No, it wasn't Sherlock kneeling in front of her.

"You're tired."

Somewhere in the depths of Khan's mind, he kicked himself for this ridiculous statement.

"I'm fine. Just needed a little water."

Ignoring his outstretched hand, she pulled herself to her feet. Khan watched how her knees shook and she steadied herself against the metal frame.

"You can take a break now. My crew is stable. I can manage the rest."

"Is Lance awake?"

"No."

"Then I better..."

Khan placed a hand on her shoulder and both of them froze.

It hit him like a brick wall: So far, his touch had only been violent. It was the first time he touched her without hurting her.
The doctor was staring at his chest, unmoving under his hand. Khan's heartbeat paced up. The proximity to her was unsettling and made him feel his own exhaustion. The adrenaline was drained from his body and all he was left with was the worry and fear for his family.

If only, Khan thought as his hand curled around this small, fragile shoulder, if only they had met under different circumstances...

Brown eyes darted up to him, tired and yet strong and as adamant as ever.

Inwardly, Khan sighed.

If only...

"I can't let you go near anyone in your state. You're exhausted, your body needs rest. You are not like us, Molly Hooper."

Molly slapped his hand off her shoulder. Khan's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, I know I'm not like you! You and your lovely people have made that perfectly clear, thank you. No, I'm not a superhuman. I neither have a superior mind nor superior strength. All I am is me. Weak, silly little me. And yes, I know any of you could snap my neck with just a flick of two fingers. But you know what?"

Molly took a step towards Khan, her eyes full of the fire that Khan dreaded most.

"If it wasn't for me, half of your damned crew would be dead by now. So you can take all your predominance and put it up your arse, if the stick that's already in there has left any room, that is."

Molly glared up at him, her face pale and her eyes cast in dark shadows.

Khan's lips curled up into a smile and he couldn't help the chuckle which left his throat.

The doctor's nose wrinkled in defiance. Then she let out a squeal.

Khan had swooped her up in his arms in one, strong movement.

"I have to say, Doctor Hooper", he purred as he climbed up the narrow stairs, balancing her effortlessly, "I admire your guts."

"I'm not afraid of you", Molly retorted sourly.

"Oh, I am more than aware of this, believe me."

Still smiling, Khan carried her to the third deck. With his foot he opened the door to his cabin. The moon flooded the dark room with its calming silver light and Khan carried her to his bed where he carefully laid her down.

Their eyes met as Molly's head sank into the cushion and Khan paused, feeling this unwelcome pull again. He hovered above her and his eyes took in her sight, the silver light of the moon paling her face and blackening her eyes. She reminded him of a fairy in this moment. His father had told him and Sherlock loads of the old tales back when they had been children. Sometimes Sherlock and him had set sail on their imaginary ship to capture one.

Thinking of his childhood and happier days in the bosom of his family made his heart clench. He felt alone all of a sudden. So alone.

Apparently, he was more exhausted than he had thought he was if these melancholic memories could get a hold of him.

Taking a breath, he straightened and looked down on the small, fragile woman with the eyes of a death fairie.

"I will not forget what you did for my crew, Dr. Hooper."

She took a breath, her black eyes boring into his.

"And I will not forget that you tore me away from safety, home and Sherlock. Never."

Khan's jaw and hands clenched.

Without another word, he turned around and left, shutting the door behind him.

There was nothing left to say between them.