WARNING: This chapter contains both the 'feels' as well as a plot twist. Enjoy.

Chapter 21

Every day, Ze'eva leaves work early and either Truk or Cassie picks him up. Cassie now oversees the training and Truk the normal day to day operations. Ze'eva herself is too distracted to be bothered with dealing with it…and finally, she stops showing up and spends entire days away. Truk cooks dinner and plays with the children. By now, the kids even approach Khan and he'll tell them stories of Earth and just how different everything is there.

It never ceases to amaze them.

…

"Where is Ze'eva?" Khan asks Truk after the third day of her being missing.

"Why?" Truk raises an eyebrow. "Worried?" Khan scowls at him and the Truk smiles lightly at him. "She's fine." There's a small catch in his voice and he leans backwards in his chair.

Khan doesn't really like anyone outside of his family but he finds Truk's and Ze'eva's open personality and lack of hostility comforting, but this is starting to get annoying. All this secrecy.

"But where is she?" he growls threateningly but Truk simply shakes his head and shrugs, but Khan knows that he knows where she is.

"Where my wife is is her business. What's going on doesn't concern you." Again, that look of sadness and hopelessness. Khan knows the man's heart is breaking for his spouse, but he doesn't know why.

"You will tell me where she is."

"No." Truk rises to his feet and Khan rises with him. "I will not. Looks like you're with me today. Ready?" Without waiting he goes to gather up the twins, Arielle, and Aaron.

Today, they take the children with them into the SAR—yet another abnormality.

Arielle giggles and runs off to the medic bay to entertain the injured and the twins follow after her excitedly. Aaron reaches up and grabs Khan's hand, his head resting lightly against his leg. Khan raises an eyebrow at the small boy but says nothing as he picks him up and holds the tyke lightly in his arms.

"Where is Ze'eva?" Khan tries again.

"With Cassie." Truk walks away towards engineering and Khan sighs in irritation.

"Do you know where your mother is?" The boy shakes his head and leans lightly against Khan's side. "What is wrong with you?"

"I don't feel so good. I think I'm sick."

"If you throw up on me, you will not have to worry about being sick." Khan narrows his eyes at the child and then freezes slightly as he begins to choke and sputter, unable to drawl breathe. What is wrong with him? Is this an asthma attack? He runs quickly towards the medbay and feels something wet against his shirt. The boy is crying, his body shuddering lightly.

"It's okay." Khan pats his back lightly and rushes into the medbay. "This boy needs help!" The Vulcan girl, Alieth, takes Aaron him Khan and quickly begins to look him over. "What is wrong him?"

"I do not know. There is nothing obstruction the airway."

"Asthma?"

"No." She pushes a button. "Truk Harrison to the medbay. Repeat: Truk Harrison is needed in the medbay."

"That's my brother!" The twins run up and Alieth gives them a stern look.

"I request everyone leave and wait in the receptionist area outside." Her voice is flat and monotonous. No one moves. "OUT!" The children scurry out and Alieth grabs Khan's arm to stop him from leaving as well. He looks at her carefully and she presses an air mask into his hand. "Press this to his over his mouth and his nose and I need to contact and ambulance."

"Isn't this place a hospital in and of itself?"

"Even we are short on medical capabilities. He will benefit greatly from the hospital in town. We are better trained but they have more medications, the ones he needs we do not have." She leaves them alone.

Khan looks down at Aaron and sees his face turning red as he coughs and gags. His eyes are red and puffy and his cheeks are slicked by a steady stream of tears. Truk runs into the room and races over to his son, his head gently tussling the boy's hair and his other hand wrapping around the boy's forearm.

"How long," Truk asks. "Has been like this?"

"About two minutes." Khan says lightly and looks back at the child—there was still no improvement.

"Thank you." He says quietly and Khan's eyes shoot up from the boy to rest curiously upon the worried man in front of him. "Thank you for helping him."

Before Khan can reply the ambulance screams outside and medical personnel rush in to drag the boy away. Alieth helps them load him up and Truk runs to grab the twins and Arielle runs behind him. Khan follows at a quick jog, easily overtaking the emotional group and keeping pace with the desperate father. He takes the car keys out of Truk's pocket and helps him strap in the children without a word. Finishes, Truk moves to go around the front of the car to the driver's seat and Khan shoves him towards the passenger's door instead.

"I'm driving. Get in."

He drives quickly and at least twenty miles over the speed limit. No one pulls him over. No one cares. The car screams to a stop and Truk explodes out of it, taking the children with him. They run into the hospital, gasping for air, hearts racing.

"What's going on?" A familiar voice demands and Khan turns in surprise. Ze'eva? What was she doing here? "Well? What happened?" Cassie walks up beside her and looks at the group worriedly.

"I'll take the kids outside so you guys can talk." Without a word Cassie and the children go outside the automatic doors and the three look at each other.

"It's Aaron." Truk says softly and Ze'eva nods. "It's getting worse."

"Yeah," She sighs, shoulders slumping. "I've noticed."

"What is it? Allergies?"

"No. It's not allergies or asthma—it's worse. I've seen kids with it before. It develops around the age of three and by the age of four they are dead…I didn't want to worry you." She stares at the floor and horror fills Truk's chest and an icy hand squeezes his heart.

"Why?" He chokes out and Khan suddenly feels sorry for the man—he knows what it is like to have your family in danger. "Why him?"

The woman shakes her head, "I wish I knew."

"You!" A Vulcan explodes into the waiting room and punches Khan squarely across his jaw. Growling Khan surges forward to catch the offender by his shirt and he pins him roughly against the wall by his throat. Angry blue eyes glare back at him. Eli? Ze'eva's brother? The boy, no more than a teenager, shoves Khan and he allows himself to be moved backward.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" He lunges forward again to hit Khan but he moves easily out of the way. "IT'S YOUR FAULT SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" A fist connects to Khan's stomach but he doesn't even feel the pain. He pushes the boy away from him and glares at the boy.

"Who?" He says calmly, anger coursing through his veins.

"My sister." Ze'eva says softly before putting herself between the two. "That's enough, Eli."

"Yeah, of course." Eli swipes his nose with his sleeve as a small trickle of green blood escape. "Protect the murderer." Turning on his heel he marches quickly outside.

"Your sister?" Khan inquires and now everything makes sense.

"Yep. Before the Human Vulcan Wars my father kidnapped my two sisters and left in his ship. For years I had thought they had died. When the war ended they had escaped and made contact and we had agreed to meet…in San Francisco. The day you crashed the ship, my youngest sister, Roni, was badly injured and fell into a coma. She still hasn't woken up. The doctor told us a few weeks ago that she never would."

Tears escape and the woman looks at the ground. "We'll be pulling the plug in a few days." She shrugs. "There no point in continued medical care. She's not alive. A machine is breathing for her. A machine is pumping her heart—she has no brain activity. She and Eli were close so…he's taking it pretty hard."

Khan is silent for a moment, digesting the information. "I can save her."

Ze'eva looks up at him, "What?"

"I said, 'I can save her'." He puts his hand lightly on his shoulder and, for once, she doesn't flinch away from the physical contact.

She stands there in shock. "No one can 'save' her. She's already gone and why would you even care? What's it to you if she lives or she dies?"

Khan sighs. "It was my fault she was injured in the first place. Would it not be the right thing to offer to help her?" He pauses, deep in thought. "And why would you help me after all that I had done? After I hurt your family and took San Francisco to its knees? Why would you treat me decently? He was right—I am a murderer."

"I don't know. I just…had to. I can't explain it—it was just a gut feeling."