Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to The Ripple Effect.

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, Silver-ShadowSpark, numom1, dialee, weezerz2490, SGAmvmm and vesna for the reviews!

Chapter 10 - The Gathering Storm.

Broken Remnants

Chapter 10 - The Gathering Storm

Rachel looked up as Khan came back from the other side of the room with two trays of food.

He set it down on one of the empty counter height tables and indicated for her to come over.

"Where did this come from?" she questioned as she sat down on one of the stools.

"Meals are transported in when I order them on the monitor." Khan explained as he sat down beside her. "I will show you later, so you can order what you want next time."

Rachel nodded, "Thank you." she said softly as she started to eat.

They ate in silence. When they were finished, he carried the trays back to the table they were transported onto. At some time later, they would be transported away.

Khan watched as she looked around the room slowly - like she didn't know what to do. He kept watching as she walked over to the couch. Then he noticed it. Her leg - she was favoring her left leg slightly. He frowned. He had caused her injury when he'd shot up the Conference Room.

At the time, he hadn't cared who he killed. He'd just wanted to get back at Marcus and kill the man for destroying his family. He'd thought the Admiral had disposed of his family after he'd escaped. He hadn't known that Rachel had managed to persuade the Admiral to keep them alive.

Khan walked over and sat in one of the chairs, "How is your injury healing?" he questioned.

Rachel had absently been rubbing her thigh and stopped. "It is healing - the muscles are just really tight." she explained.

"I did not know you were there."

Rachel shrugged slightly, "There was no reason for you to assume so. Admiral Marcus kept me close by him. He knew you'd come after him next."

"Why did he keep you with him?" Khan raised an eyebrow.

"He mistakenly assumed that he could use me against you - if you got too close to him." Rachel frowned. "I tried to tell him that I didn't matter to you - not after what I'd done." She looked away. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She glanced back at him, "I know you probably don't want me here, but thank you for letting me stay." She stood up gently, "I think I'm going to turn in, I haven't been sleeping well. Good night, Khan."

He watched as she walked to the door, "Good night, Rachel."

She paused when he replied. She knew he'd never apologize for injuring her, and he wouldn't counter her statement she'd made to Marcus. Ultimately, he really didn't care about her - only his crew. She had just been a fling on the Jupiter station, and just a companion during their stay in the basement of the Kelvin Archives. She didn't look back at him. She let out another breath slowly, then continued to her quarters.

XXXXX

Sending Off Party, U.S.S. Daystrom

Kaitlyn smiled as the evening came to a close and the guests started to leave.

Those that were leaving the Daystrom had said a few words to their fellow crew members about how they had enjoyed working with them and would miss being on this very unique ship. Then, a few of the crew members had shared stories about some of the funny, and also the challenging times they had all had in the past eleven months. Captain Jacobs had said a few kind words about each of them, then he'd expressed his gratitude to Kaitlyn for being Acting Captain while he was in a coma. He'd relayed that they would all be missed and he wished them well.

Leonard McCoy watched across the room as Kaitlyn spoke for a few minutes to newly promoted First Contact Officer Commander Piper.

Commander Spock looked at the Doctor curiously, "I think she will be missed on this ship - she seems to have made a rather large imprint on them." he stated. "Did you know that Starfleet Command offered her the position of First Officer of the Daystrom?"

Leonard shook his head slightly, "No, but I know they offered her old job back to her."

Commander Spock raised a curious eyebrow, "The Head of Section 31?" He thought over the offer. "It is not surprising, since they have found out her true identity and she is investigating the Section at the moment." He analyzed the Doctor's perplexed expression, "And yet, she turned down both offers to re-join the Enterprise as the First Contact Officer." Surely the Doctor realized why she'd made the choice she did. He decided to state his mind this once, "It is not often that we are with women who would sacrifice everything for us."

Leonard McCoy looked at the Vulcan First Officer skeptically - was he really expressing his human-half's feelings, or was he just pointing out what Bones already knew? It had to have been fate that put Kaitlyn in Leonard's path at the Academy - nothing else could explain how his life had become really worth living. She was what he thought of when he first woke up, the thought of her even brightened his day when she hadn't even been on the Enterprise, and she was the last thing he thought of before he fell asleep at night. He nodded to the Vulcan, "Good night, Spock." He started to walk across the room to Kaitlyn. He was scared, he admitted to himself. He'd never known a woman that was willing to turn down promotions, just to be with him. He stopped walking abruptly. What if he was holding her back? What if, in a few months into their mission, she grew tired of him - or worse, he did something to push her away? He sat down in the nearest chair and ran his hands through his hair. He shook his head and closed his eyes as he tried to sort out what he was supposed to do now.

He glanced to his right as someone sat down beside him.

Doctor Kor gave Leonard a slight nod. "This was a good evening. It's not how we usually send off our warriors, but I don't suppose most people here could stomach it." the Klingon Doctor added with a shrug.

Leonard sat up and took a deep breath, "What do you do?" He'd grown to like the Klingon. He was a very experienced doctor and he cared a great deal about his patients.

"After having a meal and a lot of blood wine. We fight and give each other scars to remember the other. Of course, as a doctor - I just patch the warriors off and send them on their way." Kor gave the human doctor a large grin.

"I think I like our way better." Leonard smiled softly. He realized this might be the last time he'd see Kor. "You said once she'd threatened to gouge your eyes out - why did she do that?"

Kor chuckled and glanced quickly at Kaitlyn to make sure she was far enough away to not overhear their conversation. He leaned in closer, "She'd come in, right after we'd found out we were heading back to Earth to meet up with the Enterprise, and requested her birth control dosage to be increased. I'd made an insinuating comment, she retorted, I teased her, then she threatened to gouge my eyes out if I didn't comply and drop the subject." he shrugged. Kor looked at Doctor McCoy, "She is a hard person to get close to - she's very protective of her heart."

Leonard nodded, "I don't know how I managed to catch her interest."

Kor popped Leonard on the back, "Because you are a good man, and a great doctor." The Klingon stood up, "It has been an honor to work with you this past week. I hope both of our missions are successful and that we will see each other again." He shook Leonard's hand, then left.

Leonard McCoy gave Kaitlyn a small smile as she headed over to him.

"Ready to go?" she inquired.

They walked down the corridors and headed to her quarters.

Kaitlyn stood near the couch and looked around slowly. Everything had already been packed away and transported to her quarters on the Enterprise, all she had here was her overnight bag and her photos that lined the coffee table. Suddenly, she felt tired. Not physically - but mentally. Once again she'd managed to make friends with another crew. She'd tried so hard to keep them at arm's length, but it hadn't worked. She cared too much about other peoples' well-being to be that standoffish. And now she was leaving them. Her heart started to hurt.

Leonard caught her as she sank to the floor. "Kaitlyn! What's wrong?" he questioned her worriedly as he held her in his arms.

Kaitlyn sighed tiredly as she tried to contain her overwhelming urge to just breakdown and cry. "I'd just forgotten how much it hurt to say good bye." She closed her eyes briefly and tried to center herself. She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile when she saw the look of confusion on his face. She traced the worry lines on his forehead and watched as his tension slowly eased up. "Before I met you - I had been lonely for a very long time. I hadn't let anyone worm their way in my heart. But, since I met you, I've let people get close - and I'd forgotten just how much it hurts to lose them." she admitted.

"You're not losing them, we might even meet up with the Daystrom again when we're on our mission." he pointed out. "You can still comm them. It's not like you're going to be alone."

Kaitlyn nodded. She caressed his cheek gently, "I thought I was destined to be alone for the rest of my life. You've made me realize that I don't have to be alone. I love you, Leonard."

Leonard pulled her closer and kissed her lips urgently. He didn't want her to be alone anymore. He didn't want to be alone anymore. She completed him - made him want to keep on living. He'd been mad as heck at Admiral Marcus when he shot at the Enterprise - not because he was about to kill them all to keep his mistakes from getting out, but because Leonard hadn't told Kaitlyn just how much he cared for her. His heart was soaring. He pulled back slightly and grinned, "I love you too, Kaitlyn. I'm sorry that I didn't say it before you left for the Daystrom, but I don't think I knew just how much. . ."

Kaitlyn put her finger over his lips to stop him. "Please don't apologize. Until Khan pointed something out to me today, I didn't think I ever could admit that I loved someone again." She removed her finger, then ran her hand through his hair and smiled. "I've missed being with you. Just being with you." She knew it sounded silly, but it was the truth. How she wished they could just go away for a few days. Maybe after everything settled down they could take some time off.

Leonard smiled and kissed her forehead, then stood up - taking her with him. She loved him - Leonard McCoy - the broken man that acted gruff to people because he didn't want to get hurt again.

Kaitlyn grinned as she leaned her head on his chest and just listened to his strong heartbeat. She snuck her hands under his uniform jacket and shirt and ran them over his sides.

Leonard's eyes narrowed, his thoughts immediately contemplated ravishing her right here. "Can I help you?" he questioned as he cleared his throat.

Kaitlyn ran her hands over his strong back muscles and pulled him closer to her, "Yes, I think you can." she gave him a small smile and kissed him.

XXXXX

The three middle-aged men sat in the back of the bar at a secluded table.

"What did you find out?" the raven-haired man asked the other two.

"We don't know where they're hiding Khan. Seems the only person that knows the location is Commander Donovan." the blonde-haired man stated. "She is his Advocate, maybe she'll let us talk to him."

The raven-haired man frowned, "She's a puppet of Starfleet - a First Contact Officer, not even a real qualified Advocate. He will get a farce of a trial - they're still keeping his true identity a secret because the world would be appalled at what Marcus did and blame Starfleet. They'll condemn him to death, or worse yet, they'll keep him locked up and experiment on him."

"Then we need to make Donovan tell us where he is. What can we use against her?" the brown-haired man questioned his comrades.

The blonde shook his head, "Her files are all sealed. She did look pretty chummy to that doctor from the Enterprise." he pointed out as he remembered seeing them exit Starfleet Medical a few days ago.

"Try to find out more about them, see if she really cares about him. If she does, we'll snatch him and make her take us to Khan." the raven-haired man directed.

The brown-haired man frowned, "Even if we get to him - are you sure Khan will help us?" he questioned the raven-haired man.

The raven-haired man nodded firmly, "He will."

The blonde-haired man stood up, "I've got to go, I've been called up to work at Medical tomorrow." He turned and left the other two men at the table. He frowned as he was bumped into by a group of young Starfleet cadets coming in the bar.

"Sorry about that Doctor Miles." one of the cadets apologized.

Doctor Erik Miles gave the cadet a small smile, "It's alright. Don't stay out too late."

Cadet Ronin grinned at their genetics professor from the Academy, "See you Monday." He went to join his friends at the table in front of the vid screen.

XXXXX

Rachel Reed reached over and turned off her alarm as it went off. She closed her eyes and rolled back over. She'd slept so well.

"You're not going to go back to sleep - are you?" a familiar voice asked her.

Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.

Khan was there, sitting on top of her covers and leaning against her headboard - reading a PADD. This was the same thing he'd done every morning when they'd lived in the basement of the Archives. He handed her a bottle of water.

"Are we going to be working out this morning?" she inquired as she sat up slowly and raised an eyebrow at him. He'd always handed her a bottle of water on the mornings they worked out in the gym.

"Yes - you need to strengthen the muscles in your injured leg." he pointed out as he got off her bed.

Rachel nodded slowly. Did he feel slightly guilty for injuring her, or was this just an empty platitude? "I don't want to be re-injured." she stated firmly - her body hurt bad enough as it was.

Khan watched her closely, "I will not have you do anything that will re-injure it."

Rachel got out of bed and headed to her bathroom, "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Khan quickly made her bed, then headed to the other room and had the lab program change to the gym he'd created. He had seen her hesitate - did she think he wanted her to be re-injured? He hadn't apologized for his actions that had injured her and killed many others in the Conference Room, but she knew he didn't apologize when he thought he was justified. He glanced at the door as she came in wearing her running shorts and tank top.

She walked over to him slowly as she took in all of the equipment. Many of them she recognized as equipment she'd worked out on before in the Archives, but there were a few others that she was unfamiliar with. "What do you have in store for me today?" she questioned as she stopped in front of him.

Khan kneeled down and pulled out a medical scanner and quickly ran it over her leg. He frowned, her muscles and ligaments had been shortened slightly because of the damage - that's why they felt tight. He put the scanner down on the floor, then used his hands to gently feel the tightness in her thigh. He held her in place when she instinctively tried to back away from him.

Rachel stood stiffly when Khan kept her from moving. She tried to keep her panic from rising. She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists.

Khan glanced up as he rubbed her leg gently to ease the tension in her injured leg. She was in a full blown panic. He quickly stood up and ran the scanner over her whole body. His scowl deepened. She wasn't just recovering from an injured leg. She had multiple injuries from a few months ago that were still very evident. A few months ago - when he'd escaped. He should have realized that Marcus would have her interrogated, to see if she'd helped him or knew where he was going. He put the scanner back in his pocket, then gently held her upper arms when she swayed slightly from locking her knees.

Rachel opened her eyes slowly as she tried to calm down.

Khan brushed his thumb over her cheek, "Who interrogated you?" he asked softly.

Rachel worried her lower lip as she looked down. Of course he'd figure out what was wrong. She'd rather just forget about that week. "It doesn't matter now." she frowned.

Khan tilted her chin up to make her look at him, "It matters to me." He watched as she glanced away from his gaze. "Rachel?" he requested an answer more firmly this time.

"Cartwright." She hissed as she pushed away from him. "He was finally allowed to take his anger out on me and not have to worry about bruises showing." she yelled. She turned around and looked at all of the stupid equipment. Like working out before had helped her? Cartwright had managed to overpower her in just three well placed hits. She felt her anger starting to rise again. She'd been so stupid. Stupid to think that he would just question her and not interrogate her. She picked up one of the hand weights and threw it across the room at the mirrored wall. The impact caused the mirror to crack. She picked up another weight and threw it harder and the mirror shattered, sending glass shards across the room at a high velocity.

"ELSIE, end program!" Khan demanded as he saw the mirror begin to shatter. He quickly pulled her back and shielded her with his body, just in case the program didn't end fast enough.

Rachel looked up as the room was quiet. Khan was holding her protectively and frowning slightly.

He looked down at her, "That was not a wise thing to do."

Rachel stepped back and looked around, the room had changed back to his lab. "I didn't think it through." she said softly and wrapped her arms around her chest.

Khan had never seen her let her anger loose like that - she'd always contained it before. "You have every right to be angry."

She shook her head, "I don't want to be angry anymore. I've been angry for three years - I'm tired of being angry." she admitted quietly.

Khan nodded. He understood. He watched as some of her tension released and she dropped her defensive stance. "I think we should do some breathing exercises, then some stretching."

Rachel gave him a small smile as she took a deep, calming breath. He wasn't going to coddle her, he wasn't going to hold her hand and tell her that everything would be alright. But, he would help her get stronger - and that's what she needed right now. "Okay."

XXXXX

TBC.

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