Hello lovely readers! Thanks so much for following the story and for all the reviews you have given me! I really do love to hear your reactions! We've still got a way to go yet, so I think this one is going to be a bit longer than the last two! Enjoy the next chapter and happy reading. Much love to you. :)

After Kirk had managed to drive Spock away from his hallway confrontation with Khan, they had ended up in a quiet corner of the rec-lounge. They sat in silence for a while, and as the hour grew late, the lounge emptied of other personnel. Kirk poured two glasses of Terran Brandy from the now empty bar and handed one to Spock. He awoke from is thoughts and frowned at the bronze liquid.

"What are you trying to prove, Spock?" Kirk asked him quietly as he sat back down and sipped his drink.

"Prove?"

"To Uhura, to everyone?"

"I am not trying to prove anything."

"You can't pull that over on me," Kirk replied, "You might think you're good at hiding your emotions, but you forget, I'm human, and once we know someone we can see things instantly, regardless of species."

Spock sighed sharply, holding Kirk's gaze for a moment before taking a drink of his brandy. Kirk was mildly surprised at the action, but it said a lot about how he must be feeling.

"I am not open to discussion."

"I think you are after what you said in the MedBay, and punching Khan in front of all those other officers." He recounted, "C'mon, Spock. I'm your friend."

Spock took another sip of drink and stared at one of his armrests. Kirk let silence sit between them again.

"I regret that Nyota got upset by my mention of the Vengeance crew." He admitted, "I did not intend to stress her, but I did not know she was unaware of the full story."

"Even so, surely you knew bringing that up in the first place was going to strike a chord with her?"

"I know, and I confess that I acted on an impulse in an attempt to control my other emotions." Spock told him, "I thought perhaps changing the subject to that of the Vengeance crew would spare me of other feelings."

"Did that work?"

"No, it did not. It was an illogical reaction to the situation that created an outcome worse than the one I was already dealing with."

Kirk sighed and knocked back more of his drink. "'Other feelings'?" Spock was quiet again, for a longer moment this time.

"I still love her, Jim." He said, staring into his drink. "I thought that during her time in cryostasis, my feelings for her had finally subsided, but when I saw her again after she was awoken…"

"It all came flooding back…"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." He paused, "I find it difficult to see her with Khan, and now that they have conceived a child together."

"Jealousy is not a pretty trait, Spock."

"Jealousy is one of the milder emotions I feel regarding Nyota and her situation. I am concerned for her."

"Concerned? About what?" Kirk asked, thinking a moment, "After all this, you still don't trust Khan?"

"No, I do not." He said bluntly, "I am afraid that he could hurt her. It does not take much to trigger his temper or alter his mood, so what if something were to change him?"

"I don't think anything could change him enough to leave Nyota, or stop him caring for her. You've seen what he's like, even witnessed first hand the lengths he'll go to to defend and protect her." Kirk said, "I know it's not what you want to hear, but he loves her too."

They fell silent again, both finishing their brandy.

"There are numerous things I want to change about the past." Spock aired, "It is illogical to have these thoughts, but I find myself contemplating a different outcome for myself and for Nyota."

A smile twitched at the corner of Kirk's lips, "Supposing realities. 'What ifs'. They can kill you if you start going down that road."

"An idea cannot kill you, Kirk."

"Can't it?"

Spock was about to explain, but realised perhaps they were not speaking literally. He sighed.

"I do not know how I should proceed. The likelihood of ever reconciling with Nyota on any level is close to nought. After everything, I do not think she will ever forgive me."

"Then I'm sorry, Spock," Kirk spoke quietly, "But the only option you have left is to let her go."

xxxx

Nyota awoke the next morning to a horrible pain.

"Oh my God!" She cried, turning out from Khan's embrace. His eyes flew open and he was immediately alert.

"Nyota!?" He startled, his concern grew as she cried out again.

"Cramp!" She yelped as she tired to move her leg. Khan threw the bed covers aside. "Right leg! It's so bad!" She grimaced and pointed frantically to her knee and her foot. Khan set to work massaging her calf and moving her ankle joint, starting to relieve the shooting pains. Nyota groaned, sighing heavily.

"Oh that's good." She breathed as Khan's hands worked the feeling back into her leg and foot, she sighed again.

Khan began laughing quietly at her sounds of relief, fingers still rubbing her skin, "Don't scare me like that!" He exhaled. Nyota giggled.

"I'm sorry, It really hurt!" She smiled, feeling a bit ridiculous now, considering child birth would be a million times worse than cramp.

"Better?" He asked, she sat herself up and rolled her ankle.

"Much better." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you."

He smiled, "I think you might have awoken the entire ship though."

She hit him softly, "You get pregnancy cramp, then we'll see who yells loudest!" She laughed and got out of bed.

"How are you feeling?" Khan watched her as she stretched out in her underwear. "Besides the cramp."

She hadn't thought about it yet, her mind had been preoccupied for the first few minutes of her awakening.

"Physically, I'm good. Mentally… I am a little anxious."

"Are you sure you want to confront Spock again with me?" Khan asked, getting out of bed and pulling the covers straight.

"Absolutely." She replied. "I can't leave things as they are now. I need to finish that conversation, whether we get anything out of him or not."

"Oh we will get the truth out of him, I assure you." Khan walked around the bed toward her, his expression determined. He took her hands and lead her toward the bathroom. "Shower?" He asked, grinning. Nyota hummed.

"Good idea."

Nyota had discovered an interesting and more pleasant side to her pregnancy so far; an increased libido. She had always enjoyed good sex with the right person, and with Khan, it never failed to be mind blowing. Plus, being an augment gave Khan more endurance, and he was always more than happy to satisfy her needs, especially when she wanted more.

Searching for a new uniform from the wardrobe, Nyota felt the most relaxed she had felt in days. Khan crept up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, humming as he kissed her soft skin. She laughed as the vibrations of it tickled her.

An alert from the rooms computer broke them apart. Khan released her and strode over to check the message.

"What is it?" She asked, pulling on a dress.

"Spock has requested a meeting with me in the conference room at 0800 hours." He turned to her, surprised. Her expression mirrored his.

"Strange that he would offer himself up like that."

"My thoughts exactly." Khan replied, and confirmed the message before moving to grab some clothes to pull on.

"I'm still coming with you." Nyota told him as she put on a pair of red earrings. She was curious now.

xxxx

Spock was already waiting patiently in the large, soundproof room when Khan walked through the door, followed by Nyota. Spock's gaze drifted to her and he frowned.

"Is your presence here really a good idea, Lieutenant?"

"Yes." She replied instantly, taking a seat and folding her arms. He stared at her a moment.

"Captain?" He questioned Khan about her firmness.

"You are welcome to try and force her to leave," Khan replied, taking a seat next to her, "But I'm afraid she does bite."

Nyota tilted her head, raising an impatient eyebrow at Spock who reluctantly gave up on the matter and sat on the opposite side of the table.

"I am curious that you asked to see me, Commander?" Khan commented.

"I knew that it was highly likely you would want to see me after what happened yesterday between myself and Nyota, and the threat you issued me with; so I thought best to proceed with our discussion early, so we may get back to the work we have been sent here to do."

"Yes," Khan nodded once, "A good idea."

"I regret what happened to you yesterday, Nyota. Especially as the event could have been entirely avoided."

"'Entirely avoided'?" Nyota sniped at him, "It would only have been entirely avoided if you hadn't mentioned anything."

"The Vengeance Crew, Spock." Khan interjected before they had a chance to argue about what happened. "Where are they? What has happened to our family?"

"Nothing has changed in the past fifteen hours." Spock hesitated, "I am still not at liberty to tell you the details. I am merely willing to offer my side of what happened yesterday in order to, 'clear the air', as you might say."

"So, me collapsing and almost having a complete nervous breakdown is still not enough of a change for you to realise just how important the information you have is to us?" Nyota stated, shocked at his lack of understanding.

"Mr. Spock," Khan began slowly. "You will not be leaving this room until you have told us what you know. Commander Kirk has happily taken over temporary command of the Entrada, and I warn you not to test my patience in situations of information extraction."

"You believe this method of holding me here like a prisoner is going to make me tell you anything?"

"The way I see it, Commander, is you have two options; One: we sit here and we discuss it, quietly, with an amount of respect between each other. Or two: I redecorate this room with lashings of your green, Vulcan blood, and I will not stop until you talk."

"The latter of those options would be stressful for Nyota to bear witness to, don't you think?" Spock faulted him. Khan smirked.

"Then with her best interest in mind, perhaps you should opt for the former?" Khan suggested, playing on the feelings Spock still had for his beloved in order to get what he wanted. Spock sat silently, gaze drifting between both of them, sizing up his situation.

"Are you familiar with the phrase, 'don't shoot the messenger'?" Khan asked.

"A phrase derived from the work of William Shakespeare's Henry the Fourth from 1598."

"Yes, the term still has significant usage, even after all these centuries." Khan said, "I am willing to apply it to our situation here, if you are willing to cooperate with my terms. You are merely a source of information, you are not, as far as I'm aware, responsible for what happened."

Spock's gaze flicked to the table and he clenched his jaw. He said nothing.

"Oh my God…" Nyota said after too long a pause, studying Spock's subtle expressions carefully. "You are, aren't you?" She whispered. Khan frowned at her before slowly looking back to the Vulcan. Spock met her gaze, eyes distant. "You are somehow responsible…"

"The night you were awoken, Khan foolishly came to argue with me before he set out to find you." Spock told her, "He made his intentions quite clear to me, so when I heard a few hours later of the commotion in London from a break in at the Vaults, I was able to inform the Admiral of who was responsible." He met Khan's eye, "The Admiral then dealt with the situation accordingly."

Nyota glanced at Khan, whose presence had grown with fierce magnitude as he sat, eyes boring into Spock and fists clenched tightly in his lap. Spock had ratted him out to their superiors once again. The Vulcan sat perfectly still, expression unfazed.

"The Admiral has terminated the lives of your crew. I do not know how, or where; all I know is that they are dead."

Nyota caught her breath, tears filling her eyes and a hand flying to grip Khan's arm. Spock's unyielding pose was positively rude. He played a part in the fate of the lives of the people Khan and Nyota loved most in the world, and he showed not even the slightest hint of remorse. Khan had been dangerously silent for a long minute.

"Nyota," Khan eventually said calmly, very calmly. "I think now would be an appropriate time for you to leave, my darling. Go and rest."

She rose to her feet, speechless, and gently touched Khan's shoulder.

"I'll be in our quarters." She whispered, glancing at Spock as she turned to leave and feeling utterly repelled.

The conference room door sealed shut behind her. She knew what was about to happen now, and was going to do absolutely nothing to stop it.