Big thanks to Miz-Joely and Onedayer for the beta and TrekCheck!

Molly blinked several times, trying to get her bearings. Her eyesight was a little fuzzy and she assumed it was an aftereffect of the device used to transport her back to the street. Mycroft had banked on Khan keeping an eye on her last known location, so all Molly had to do was wait until he arrived to claim her.

A movement in the shadows caught her attention and she tensed, ready to break into a sprint if need be. A soothing voice stopped her flight, calling out her name.

"Molly, it's alright. Mycroft sent me to watch over you."

Molly's brow furrowed. He hadn't mentioned any such plan, but the man was rather tight-lipped, leaving a lot of the explanation of what she should and should not do to his assistant, Anthea. Though she hadn't mentioned a companion either. Molly watched with eyes narrowed as a slight woman with dark hair and scarlet lips, dressed in a Starfleet uniform which was a bit worse for wear, stepped out of the shadows.

"Quickly now, this is the story you will tell Khan. You were captured by Starfleet. I am an augment and one of Khan's crew who was awakened by Starfleet for study, and escaped their grasp, rescuing you at the same time. You brought me here so that he could find us."

She stopped and smiled, though Molly couldn't help but think it failed to be reassuring. Her lips were too red, her hair too perfectly kept, nails with a posh manicure.

"How do I know you are sent by Mycroft? He didn't mention you."

Molly studied the woman as her expression turned bored, though she tried to hide it with another forced smile.

"You can ask any questions you like, but Khan will be here soon. At least stick to the story for now, and I can prove myself to you at a later time. My name is Irene, by the way."

Something about her though, tickled the edges of Molly's memory. Her face was unfamiliar but her name rang a distant bell in Molly's head. She couldn't tell where she'd heard it, but it was important somehow. Molly made a snap decision then, not taking the time to weigh out the pros and cons of trusting the woman. She could be working with Mycroft or not, either way, if Molly was going to discover who she was, then she needed to be close. Surely with Khan, Greg and John around, she could do no harm to them or the ship.

Her thoughts were cut short though, by a sudden shout. She turned to see Khan appear, with John hot on his heels. The augment did not slow, swiftly stepping in front of Molly and catching the other woman by the throat.

"You have thirty seconds to convince me not to end your life. Speak."

It wasn't the woman whose voice rang out however. Molly's hand closed over his and pried it away from the woman's throat, as she spoke rapidly, moving around to where she stood between Khan and Irene, both of whom were looking at her as if she'd gone mad.

"This is Irene. She rescued me from Starfleet, she helped me escape. She's one of us, an augment and part of the crew. I," she faltered. "I remember her. Not her face, her voice maybe? Something about her…" she trailed off, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Khan looked from one woman to the other several times before sighing deeply, and running a hand through his hair.

"Alright," he finally replied, speaking directly to Irene. "You will be allowed to come with us, but until you prove trustworthy, you'll be under constant surveillance."

She pursed her lips but nodded, not contesting Khan's conditions. Molly breathed an inward sigh of relief, before furrowing her brow, realizing exactly what she'd just done. Because of her, an unknown factor had been added to the equation. She hoped that she hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

Khan kept his eyes on the woman before him as he brought his wrist up close to his face, in order to use his wrist communicator. He had left Lestrade in charge as soon as Molly had shown up on surveillance; John had barely made it into the jump ship in time to ride along, Khan was in such a hurry to get to her.

"Lestrade," he barked into the com. "Have Billy ready with an ankle monitor the moment we come aboard."

"Billy?" Molly's soft voice questioned, and Khan smiled, throwing John a meaningful look, and turning his back on the newcomer once his second in command had assumed a defensive position next to Irene. Khan took Molly's arm and moved her several steps back from the other two as he spoke, subtly running his hands over her to check that she was really fine.

"Yes, Molly. Billy is one of the ones you managed to save." He smiled down at her, watching a blush spread across her face at his praise.

"It wasn't me. Greg did all the work. All I did was point," she stammered, making Khan frown in confusion, and then annoyance as he realized who she was referring to.

"Do not belittle yourself, Molly Hooper," he snapped, reaching out to close his fingers around her jaw and lift her face to make her look at him directly. "Never do that," he reiterated, watching her carefully.

He'd been frantic with worry, though had attempted to keep it hidden from the other people aboard the Vengeance. Khan had been irritable and moody, often losing his temper at the slightest thing and the both Watson and Lestrade had tiptoed around him ever since Molly had gone missing.

Lestrade had taken the brunt of Khan's temper, and the captain had to admire the self-control he displayed, never lashing back when he was berated for small errors, or, on several occasions, something that wasn't even under his control.

The new crew members had been awakened, and John had figured out a more efficient way of doing it, which meant that they woke far more rapidly than when Khan had woken Watson, Lestrade and Molly.

The first to awake was a young man, sallow and thin, with bright blue eyes. He'd identified himself as Wiggy, to which Khan raised a brow, causing the man to correct himself and give his full name, Bill Wiggins. Wiggins was a hacker, it turned out, and Khan was hopeful that once he learned how to use the newer tech aboard the Vengeance, that he'd be able to patch into the hidden archives of Starfleet and obtain some useful information.

Next, a young woman who had instantly clashed with Khan. When Khan stalked into her quarters, arrogantly identifying himself as her captain and rescuer, the olive skinned beauty had pursed her lips and shook her head at him, refusing to acknowledge his authority, until Lestrade had entered the room as well and affirmed that he was loyal to Khan. She'd given her name, Sally Donovan, to Lestrade, apparently instantly trusting the grey haired man. When she'd regained her strength well enough to walk the ship, she'd attached herself to Lestrade's side, preferring to help him in his duties than to deal directly with Khan, which suited the captain.

The last to become lucid was the older woman. Barely an hour before Molly had been located, she'd blinked awake, immediately attempting to sit up and complaining about her hip, and how it always hurt when it was going to rain. Khan had genuinely smiled for the first time since Molly had been taken, and gently told the woman that it couldn't possibly be about to rain, since they were in space, and there was no atmosphere. The brown haired lady had put a shaky hand to her mouth when he showed her to the window, and muttered about how things were different in her day.

He'd been with her when Lestrade had buzzed his communicator, excitedly informing Khan that Molly had shown up again in the alley where she'd disappeared from. Immediately he'd taken off, running through the ship, shouting to Lestrade that he was in charge until he returned, knowing that Watson was sleeping in order to be rested enough to take the second watch. To his mild surprise, John arrived at the jump ship just after him and dove in just as Khan was preparing to depart, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

At his commander's raised brow, John had merely shrugged and mumbled something about not getting his impulsive arse killed and Khan had turned his head to hide his amused grin, since he, as an augment, was certainly less likely to get injured than John, who was still a mere human. Still, the sentiment touched him and he didn't complain or order the fair haired man stay behind.

Now, Khan looked down at the woman he hadn't been sure he'd see again. He moved closer to her, invading her personal space and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, gently running his fingers over her cheek and down to her jaw. He leaned closer, maintaining eyes contact as he stood close enough to her to feel her quick breaths on his own lips and see her eyes dilate rapidly as she stared up at him.

"We need to get back to the ship," he announced, straightening suddenly, and turning on his heel. He heard her ragged intake of breath behind him as he stalked away from her, back towards the others, and grabbed Irene by the upper arm, pulling her along as Molly and John fell into line behind, and the headed back to the jump ship.