AUTHOR'S NOTE: So I need to do a long overdue shout out to all of you loyal people who consistently review this story. Thanks to CLTex, peerme, Elliesmeow,WarriorDragonElf54, Savysnape7, Benedict'sZombieGirl, DemonicSymphony, JediCasons, priestessofeternity, Fat Old Sun, and I'm sure I've missed a bunch! Thank you all so much for sticking by while I write this ridiculous fic. You guys are awesome!

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Khan could barely hide his amusement as he watched her.

Madelyn glanced frantically between him and the doctor. Clearly she hadn't been expecting this turn of events. What deception Dr. McCoy had managed to concoct in order to bring her here, he couldn't know. But he found their current scenario detestable, angry at the possibility that she could mistake his presence here as an act of cooperation with Dr. McCoy, an idea that could not have been further from the truth. He'd refrained from violence this long merely because he knew she would be there, and because one move too early would destroy his chance at freedom, a chance that he knew was rapidly approaching.

"What is he doing here?" she demanded to know, glancing at McCoy. Khan's eyes swept her body, noting her high heels, her professional attire, her carefully styled hair. Her eyes were filled with indignation and her left cheek was bleeding.

"You're hurt," he said, gesturing to his own cheek in a show of sympathy. It was not insincere.

"It's nothing," was her curt response. As she eyed him, he wondered what trouble she'd found herself in this time, but she was right. It was only a surface abrasion and her cells would heal within the hour. Madelyn's attention shifted to McCoy again, much to Khan's displeasure.

"Bones, would you mind telling me what's going on? I came here for a job."

So she'd been looking for work at Starfleet. At first the thought enraged him, but he realized she would have no other options. With her reputation destroyed in the public's eye, she'd found herself forced to return to Starfleet for employment, in a sick twist of fate.

Khan set down the tablet he'd quietly hacked into and stood abruptly from the chair behind McCoy's desk. The guards assigned to him tensed, their hands reaching for phasers in their belts. He retained a subtle smirk. They were terrified of him, and he would be sure to follow through on their fear when the time was right.

"I came here because I was ordered to," he said, inserting himself into Madelyn's confrontation. Recalling their last conversation before his trial, he would not let her push him away so easily this time.

He drew his hands behind his back, acknowledging Bones with a questioning eyebrow. He knew how to take command of a room with the simplest of gestures. "Please tell us, Dr. McCoy, what are we doing here?" He allowed for an annoyed lilt in his voice, just for emphasis.

"I need you both for an experiment," said the doctor, sounding almost uninterested. Khan was not pleased to hear this, and it seemed neither was Madelyn. McCoy rolled his eyes at her reaction. "Jesus, don't panic. I just need some tissue and blood samples from you both. Since they've gotta be fresh to do the trick, I can't just bring a whole lab to y'all at once."

Her stubborn expression hardened. "I was told I'd be getting a job when I came here, not a jab," she countered.

"I know and I'm sorry it had to be this way," said McCoy. "I didn't think you'd come if you knew."

Khan felt a tinge of satisfaction at the look Madelyn gave the doctor. She wanted nothing to do with this because he was there, but now she had no choice. He watched her slightly fascinated but was not surprised when she burst out shouting.

"I'm so tired of being stabbed in the back by people I trust!" She reached for a plaque on the wall nearby, McCoy's diploma from Starfleet Medical Academy, wrenched it from the wall and smashed it into the floor. "I'm tired of being lied to!"

Khan couldn't help but admire the fury that erupted from her. Her chest rose and fell with her labored breaths as she met his gaze. He felt the corner of his mouth rise. Something was growing inside of her, he realized, elevating her hormones, stoking her inner fire.

Startled by his expression, she ripped her gaze from his, looking down at the shattered glass by her feet and uttered a tiny gasp, barely a sharp inhalation that only Khan's enhanced hearing could have picked up. She knelt down and began to gather the broken pieces in her bare hands. "I am so sorry, Bones. I didn't mean—"

"Don't worry about it," said McCoy.

Khan felt a tinge of jealousy as the doctor went over and pulled Madelyn to her feet. If he tried to touch her like McCoy did, he would certainly be met with resistance from more than just her.

"I need you to sign this consent form." McCoy handed her the tablet from his desk, the one Khan had briefly hacked into, finding every piece of data he could about Madelyn's new life. He watched as she took it, imagining her hands gracing a fragment of his skin cells or a molecule of oil from his fingers.

She glanced at the glowing screen in her hands, her eyes flitting back and forth over the small print. Khan wondered briefly if she could read as quickly as he could.

"What if I don't want to sign it?" she said, shooting him another glance. She was in a much better position than him, being given a choice on the matter while he had not. Yet again, he forced down the anger he'd been incubating ever since those Federation imbeciles who called themselves judges had sentenced him back into servitude.

McCoy sighed in exasperation. "If you don't sign the form, you get to go back home and I don't get to complete my work."

Khan lifted his chin slightly, considering the possibility that he would have to find another way to begin to be close to her again. But his doubts were erased immediately when she promptly signed the tablet and shoved it back into McCoy's hands.

For a moment, all Madelyn heard was the sound of her high heels clicking along the floor, and her heart thumping in her chest. The walk from Bones' office to the lab was like walking a gauntlet. Everything on that floor had stopped, and everyone they passed was staring. It was bad enough that Khan was practically right behind her, with a clear view of her back, and her rear. His security officers kept very clear of him, and she didn't blame them.

"Is this gonna become a regular thing around here, using Khan like this? You do realize that was what made him turn on Admiral Marcus, right?" She kept her voice low in the hopes that the Augment couldn't hear her. She realized her effort was probably in vain. Bones shrugged.

"I'm not the one who decided it was a good idea to let him wander around here like a wolf in a sheep pen. I'm just trying to make medical advancements, and after what happened to Jim using this bastard's blood, I thought, hell, why not try it again?"

Madelyn couldn't help but shake her head. It was a disaster waiting to happen and she felt trapped in the middle of it, all over again. "So what are you planning to do?" She glanced back at Khan to see that he could hear them just fine. He smiled enigmatically and she looked away.

"I want to synthesize a protein using base genetic code from each of you, and go from there."

"What do you hope to accomplish with this?" she asked, considering the possibilities for medicines, treatments, even cures. But Bones just shook his head.

"This is all new to me. I'm taking it a step at a time."

Madelyn nodded, slightly disappointed. "So you'll only need a small sample?"

"Very small. It'll feel like a pinch."

She let out a dark chuckle. "The last time I was told that, I ended up with a broken arm."

They took the wide staircase that wound through the central hub of the building. The lab was a few floors up. Madelyn bristled as she felt a hot breath graze the back of her neck. She quickened her steps, not daring to turn around to see how close he'd managed to get to her as they went up the stairs. She glanced at one of the security officers tasked with guarding him and sent the slight man a deadly glare.

"Does Starfleet know?" she said after a moment.

"What?"

"That they've got a psychopathic doctor in their ranks?"

Bones shook his head. "I doubt he's a priority, if they even know about him. For all we know, he died in the damn crash."

"He didn't. I saw in court." Madelyn clenched her teeth briefly, recalling the way that coward had skittered out of the courtroom while she testified to his disgusting actions.

"What happened to your face?" Bones asked. "You should get that cleaned up."

She reached up and felt the tender skin and dried blood. She knew it would be completely healed by the end of the day. "There was a woman in the elevator with me. She wore a cast on her arm, said she'd never be able to use it again because of the Vengeance. I guess she recognized me, and started cursing and screaming, and then she hit me."

"I'll gladly find this woman and end her if you wish," came Khan's deep voice.

Madelyn stared at him as they came to a halt by a set of highly secure doors. Khan was looking at her as though she was the only thing left in the world.

"There'll be no ending of anybody," said Bones, his eyebrow twitching. "We're here."

He punched in the security code and they went inside. Two security officers took up posts outside and the doors slid shut with a hiss, locking in place. The other officers remained within a safe distance of Khan. Madelyn noted that this seemed to be their standard procedure. They were probably more terrified of Khan than she was, and she certainly didn't feel safe around him, not when he could come up behind her and breathe on her neck without consequence.

Bones went through a sliding door into the next room to gather some supplies, leaving Madelyn alone in the main room with Khan. She edged around a large table in the center of the room that was scattered with lab equipment and other gadgets. She wasn't comfortable until the table became a wide barrier between them.

She stared at him from across the room, the low fluorescent lights illuminating his face. She half expected him to fling the table away and pounce on her. Instead, he addressed her frankly.

"How have you been, Madelyn?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He gazed at her for another moment, then turned and studied the room "It was worth a try."

She narrowed her eyes. Was that mirth she heard in his voice?

She eyed him as he began to walk around the table, sliding his fingers along the shiny metal surface. "I don't know why the Federation believes they can hold me like this. They've returned me to the literal slavery I was forced into by Alexander Marcus. Would you say that's a cruel twist of fate, or perhaps you do not believe justice has been properly served?"

Madelyn backed away as he slowly advanced towards her. He was fuming, his eyes glistening darkly with built-up rage. From the way his knuckles turned white as they pressed against the table, she realized he'd been saving his anger for an opportune moment.

"Don't take it out on me," she said quietly, her eyes flitting to his guards. They were already proving themselves to be useless. She could see it on their pale faces.

"Alright, kids I'm back. Hope you behaved."

With Bones back in the room, the invisible rope of tension that was drawing Khan towards her vaporized. His jaw clenched and he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. She saw the tension in his neck and shoulders subside and felt a slight breath of relief escape her lungs as his attention was drawn to the doctor's instruments.

"I can do this right here if you want. It should only take a moment."

Madelyn was already rolling up her sleeve. "Go ahead."

Bones took his tissue sample. It was only a pinch, as he'd said. When he was done, Madelyn rolled down her sleeve and looked coolly at Khan. The Augment said nothing as Bones injected him and took several samples, and then it was over as quickly as it'd begun. Bones took the syringes of blood and tissue into the next room, leaving the two of them alone again save for the five silent security officers.

"How is our expected treating you?"

"What?" Madelyn snapped her eyes to him, her hand subconsciously resting over her belly. She knew she wasn't showing yet. She'd checked just that morning.

Khan tilted his chin down slightly, angling his piercing gaze at her from across the corner of the table. "Don't think I haven't noticed, Madelyn. Your body temperature is elevated. Your hormones are rushing through you. And your face is glowing. You've never looked better."

She glared at him indignantly, even as Bones returned to the room and began fiddling with a microscope.

"May I go?" she asked stiffly, not looking at the doctor as Khan's gaze punctured something inside of her, something she'd wanted to keep far away from him.

Bones didn't glance up from his work. "That's it. You can go."

She refused to spew the words at Khan that balanced on the tip of her tongue. His lips parted microscopically, as though he were waiting for her to have another outburst of anger. He wanted her to lose control, she realized. Because if she did, then he could take that control back.

She tore her gaze from him and walked quickly to the door of the lab, feeling his eyes burning into her back. She was let out, but she didn't hear the doors hiss closed. Her high heels tapped loudly down the hall. He'd left the lab too, his security escort surely in tow and clueless on what to do without getting themselves killed. She felt her heart thumping in her ears. Bypassing the elevators for their slowness, she pulled off her heels and headed for the stairs in the center of the building. She was twenty floors up.

She ran down the wide staircase, ignoring the looks of those she passed, her bare feet carrying her easily down the cold glass steps. She reached the ground floor and walked swiftly through the heart of the vast lobby, not bothering to glance behind for fear that he was right on top of her. She heard footsteps, but she couldn't be sure if they were his. She knew the only thing keeping him from stopping her was his careful planning. He would have calculated the best time and method of escape. His guards would be no issue for him.

The plaza outside came into view through the wide glass wall in front of her. The door she sought drew nearer. It contained biometric sensors in its handle, allowing only authorized personal to enter or exit with a simple scan of the palm. Khan could not open it, but he could take advantage of Madelyn's clearance, or simply break through the glass. She was unsure how thick the glass really was. She hoped it was as strong as the glass that had held him on the Enterprise.

"Maddy!"

She glanced around frantically to see Owen Gallagher in Starfleet uniform running towards her. He caught her before she could reach the handle of the door that would take her out of Khan's reach.

"Maddy, I'm so glad I found you! I heard you'd gotten a flat but no one will tell me where. How have you been?" As he spoke he reached out and took her arm, shaking her excitedly. She wrenched out of his grasp.

"I don't ever want to see you again, do you understand?" She glanced around at the few onlookers who'd caught onto their conversation. She hated being recognized in public like this.

"Can't we do lunch, figure this out?"

"Figure this out?" She felt her voice rising with her panic as she knew Khan could not be far away. "Owen, do you have idea what you've done to me? Please, I need to go." She made another grab for the handle.

Gallagher grabbed her arm again. "Come on Maddy! Surely you've moved on!"

"What seems to be the problem?"

Madelyn turned to see Khan striding towards them, his cowardly armed escort dutifully trailing after him. They must have had orders to withhold certain treatments unless provoked. Madelyn bit her lower lip and turned back to Gallagher. "Please, you should go."

She yanked herself free of the man's weak grasp and stepped towards the door as Khan came to a halt within arm's reach.

"Everything's fine," she insisted, putting a firm hand on Gallagher's shoulder, encouraging him to back away. "Owen was just leaving."

Gallagher's wide blue eyes jumped between her and Khan. "This man is dangerous, Maddy! What are you doing with him?"

She caught the dangerous glint in Khan's eyes, the sinews in his neck tightening, his jaw clenching. Her pulse quickened. "Owen, please, just go. I'll be fine."

To her dismay, Gallagher took a step forward, his nostrils flaring. "You're protecting him! You—you're trying to appease him!"

She put herself between the two men, feeling Khan's powerful hot breaths on the back of her head. "I'm trying to save you—"

"I was doing my job!" he insisted, his thin hands curling into fists. "I was serving the Federation!"

"Owen, please—"

Gallagher pushed her aside and swung his fist at Khan's jaw. Madelyn watched in horror as Khan caught the smaller man's offending limb, twisted it sharply, and flung his body against the glass wall. Gallagher collapsed to the floor with a groan. Khan easily dispatched the guards that aimed their phasers at him, but Madelyn was out the door before she saw their bodies crumpled on the floor. Alarms sounded throughout the building.

He was on her almost before she had time to react to the sound of shattering glass. He seized her by her upper arm and practically dragged her behind him across the plaza.

"You don't seriously think you can get away?"

"I will," he growled.

She believed him.

They ran into the shelter of an underground parking garage and Khan paused long enough for Madelyn to catch her breath. He pulled her behind him as he broke into the closest vehicle, a brand new hovercraft, then lifted the hatch and pushed her towards it.

"Get in."

"No."

"Get in!" he roared.

She pressed her lips together at the anger in his voice but held her ground. He towered over her. "You can't do this," she said.

"Madelyn." His tone was a warning. "Don't."

"I'll let them catch you," she said through clenched teeth. "I'll let them put you where you should have been all along."

He raised his hand and she flinched, expecting him to slap her. Instead he brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and gently slid his fingers behind her ear, his palm cupping her face. His thumb drifted over the scrapes in her cheek. They were almost completely healed.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

She felt Khan take her head in his hands, knocking her against something. Then everything went black.