Thank you for the amazing response to the story so far, your reviews are preciously appreciated and I forever enjoy receiving them (special thanks to DefrotingSteve – best spamming session my email inbox has had in a while from all those review alerts :P )

This chapter is a bit... Well action packed in a way, a lot happens, lots more questions arise, bit of fluff and... A new character is introduced! Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Five: I Can't Sit Idly:

"No, I seriously don't understand it Spock. A few days ago his results were... Below average, probably due to his recover, his stabbing, his broken wrist and his mental fragility. Now... Now they are off the God damned chart!" the Doctor hissed; his frustration of being questioned by the Vulcan who was not 'in any way, shape or form medically trained' increasing by the minute.

"And what exactly are you suggesting, Doctor McCoy? Because I fail to deduce the problem. The Captain is perfectly healthy according to your report, is he not?"

"Yes! Yes he is healthy, and his statistics are stronger then ever... But do you really not get what I am trying to tell you?!"

Spock raised an eyebrow slowly, "Evidently not, Doctor."

Bones threw his hands up, running one through his hair as he fought the urge to inject the man with the vaccine to Mud Fleas, "Spock... Oh, just look at them yourself!" he barked and thrusted the PADD into the Vulcan's waiting hands.

Spock, still slightly confused by what the man was seemingly irate about, looked down at the machine and began to read the notes and the comparison results from previous tests. And that was when it hit him; his gaze snapped up to meet the Doctors' and Bones must have seen a flash of understanding pass over his usually impassive face.

"Yeah. Now you see the problem." he drawled with a huff.

-/-

Dodging the rapid fire from the enemy ground troops, Jim sprinted across the wasteland; diving for cover behind a partially decimated wall and glancing around quickly he saw Khan not far away, crouched behind an overturned truck with a small but persistently bleeding cut on his forehead. Throwing his gaze out again, he saw Uhura fling herself under a heap of tarpaulin to catch her breath; a moment later he saw her peep out to assess the position of her allied and her foes.

Scotty appeared from no where, sweating and panting just as much as he had been when he had opened the airlock into the USS Vengeance for himself and Khan, the man half collapsed behind the wall next to the Captain.

Gasping to recover his breath he shouted over the roaring of the gun fire from the phaser rifles their enemy was weilding, "Captain! We're getting slaughtered out here! We need to pull back!"

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Scotty!" he shouted back, "I had realised our current predicament!"

"Then you have a plan!" the other realised.

"Uhh..." he paused and looked at him for a moment, "Kind of! I want you to linger back, on my mark rush in and try not to get hit!"

"Excellent Captain!" the Scottishman yelled sarcastically.

The blond rolled his eyes, "Quit whining! You're starting to sound like Bones!"

"Where is he anyway?!"

"Must have gotten held up or something... Spock is missing too! We'll find him later, for now we have to focus on the task at hand!"

"Aye Captain!"

Jim took a breath and popped his head up over the wall to gauge his surroundings, his eyes fell on a partially crushed car before they flittered to the storage shed which was about eighteen and a half feet to its left. He ducked down again, narrowly avoiding being shot in the head by the enemy fire. He cursed and calmed his nerves before he moved into a crouched position and flipped open his communicator, dialling Khan; Uhura and Sulu in case the man had come around from being stunner previously.

"Listen up, we're under heavy fire and we've got no weapons. Our choices are limited, but I have a plan... I want you to watch my movements, to the best of your ability warn me if someone tries to take a pop at me and then on my mark follow my lead! Kirk out." he snapped the device shut again and glanced towards Uhura, seeing her nod briefly in response to his command before he looked at Khan: the taller man looked concerned and was likely smoothing out any and all flaws with the plan that existed but nevertheless, he gave a slow but defiant nod of his head to show his respect towards the authority of his Captain. That was something which made Jim's heart swell with pride.

Leaning back for a moment, he took a breath, flexing the fingers of his still cast restricted hand before he wetted his lips with a flick of his tongue and suddenly ran out from behind the wall; he instantly became the focus of the gun fire. He opted to be absolutely insane, and instead of running in the generic diagonal line to avoid the shots he ran straight towards them – it was what the enemy would least expect after all.

He hissed as a beam of phaser energy skimmed his cheek and burned his skin lightly before he dived into the car he had spotted. It only took him three minutes to hot-wire the thing before he reversed and stomped on the accelerator, driving towards the storage shed as fast as he could. To his delight and triumph he found a stock pile of phaser rifles; he plundered a selection of the them and slung the spares over his shoulder while sets them to stun. Then he climbed back into the car and sped out of the shed, skidding in the sandy wasteland and firing up a plume of dust before he shifted the gear stick and stomped his foot on the accelerator.

He drove the vehicle towards the enemy, sighting a pile of rubble coming up on his right hand side he strapped the accelerator down, kicking the door open and flung himself out of the vehicle, grunting as he hit the ground and flung his communicator open, "NOW!" he screamed into it before he found himself surrounded by his crew as they snatched up the phasers their Captain had purloined and began to return fire, the advantage given to them by the fact that their enemy was forced to scatter as the car headed straight for them.

Jim looked around and accepted Sulu's help in getting back to his feet; he took up his own weapon and began to fire in response, "Have a nice nap, Mister Sulu?" he called in jest.

"One of the better ones since you became Captain, sir." the pilot said in good humour; Jim laughed at this and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

It was only half an hour later when a deafening alarm bell rang over head and the scene around the shifted and reverted back into the glistening white training room, situated in Starfleet HQ.

Kirk panted gently and looked around before he chuckled a little sardonically as he saw the members of their opposition sprawled across the floor unconscious, apparently having been taken unsuspecting by their sudden show of aggression; without a doubt they had utterly decimated the crew of the USS Journeyman.

Oh sweet, sweet success.

-/-

As they disbanded from the extra curricular training session, Jim said his farewells to Uhura, Sulu and Scotty before he smiled and reached out to take Khan's hand in his as they walked, "So... Ho was that for a romantic date?" he askedd.

"You consider training to be a date?" the other responded as he laced their fingers together.

"No... But you do. You are a super soldier after all, it is only natural that you view a training exercise as fun or whatever." the blond shrugged before he looked up at him, "How's the head?" he questioned as he looked at the butterfly stitches holding the gash on his lover's forehead shut.

Khan was momentarily speechless at how observant Jim was about his own personal likes and dislikes; then he realised that he should not have expected anything less of him, he smiled, "Surprisingly sore. It is taking a long time for me to adjust to... Being normal." he sighed and lifted his free hand, brushing the stitches gently, "How do you function like this?"

"No good asking me! I had gotten used to being superhuman as well. I'm finding it hard work too." he admitted.

Khan considered this for a moment before he shrugged it off altogether, "Dinner?" he smiled."

"God, yes." he breathed.

Dinner was a very pleasant affair, the majority of which was spent with Jim and Khan dissecting each other's battle instincts.

According to Khan, Jim was impulsive; reckless; irrational; hotheaded and had a tendency to play the hero and almost make himself a martyr. Those were the negatives, but apparently his redeeming factors were that his instinctual nature was normally right; he had a good mind for tactical analysing and he was knowledgeable about where he could find places to take cover; he made sure his team were safe and he made a priority of winning, oh and his fighting ability was pretty decent as well.

Jim had laughed at him for being so picky about it, but he knew that he was right and he admitted that he was correct. He acknowledged that he had a serious issues with his personal management skills and he was almost incapable of listening to anyone who wanted to target or smudge his authority, but he did defend himself by stating that as Khan had correctly implied: he was rarely wrong.

After a few mouthfuls of food and drink, Khan sat back and allowed himself to become a little bit vulnerable (telling himself that it was only ever for James Kirk that he would do this) and asked what his negative and positive points were.

For a moment, Jim had been stumped, was he really meant to dissect Mister Perfect? He decided that he would damn well try to!

"You're strong in every area of combat, and you are aware of how to use your skills to benefit the people around you; you are powerful and quick with an excellent mind for tactical warfare and you can think three steps ahead of your enemy. I am also impressed by how well you take orders; despite being a Captain yourself you are willing to follow my command and you don't second guess me even if you think I am wrong," he had replied, "But you do have a slight tremor in your left hand, it caused you to miss one of your targets earlier on today, but normally you keep it under control and I think that is because you are no longer superhuman."

Jim had been correct, surprisingly, but Khan had added that he was also too concerned about the welfare of his lover during battle and it sometimes interfered with his concentration; he had also said that the tremor in his hand had always been present, but he had been able to quell it when he had been a superior being.

As the pair left the café they had been frequenting, Jim found himself happily nestled against the taller man's side; their arms were linked and he had his head rested against his shoulder as they moved.

The blond lifted his arm, glaring at the plaster cast which was still hindering his life, "I hope Bones can take this damn thing off soon... It is getting in the way of my life. I nearly didn't make the jump out of that damned car because the bloody thing got itself caught up in the seat belt." he grumbled.

"Patience is a so called virtue." Khan teased in response, pressing a kiss against the other's hairline as he saw him pout, "Don't worry so much, it will be gone before you know it."

"It had better be." he sighed before he cheered up slightly, "So, I did want to emphasise how happy I am that you have been mingling with the crew so well..."

"They are your family and by extension my family James how could I not mingle with them?" he asked sceptically, before he saw just how pleased his lover was and he sighed, "I am glad you are happy."

"Well... I have you to thank for that," he shrugged, "Anyway, I just want to thank you for making the effort. I know it can't always be easy with the way some people still judge you and look at you... But you do it anyway and whether or not it is because you want to or because I would like you to... You still do it and it means a lot."

Khan shook his head, "Honestly, it isn't a problem, I have come to see them as an extension of my family, just as my own crew is."

"Yes well... Anyway, I guess I just wanted to thank you and show my appreciation so I kind of got you a gift. And from what I can see it is something you don't have but you could do with."

The taller man stopped walking and stared at him in surprise, "You got me a gift? I... Don't have one for you though..."

"You don't need to get me one. Anyway, here it is..."

Jim lifted a palm sized round black velvet box from his jacket and handed it to the man, stepping back so that he could view his response to the present. Without realising it, he lifting his hand and bit gently on the tip of his thumb, a certain sign of anxiety from his childhood.

Khan watched him for a moment, slightly enamoured by the adorable expression of worry on the blonds' face before he flipped the lid on the box and blinked as he found himself looking at a silver watch; he pulled it from the box and examined it at every angle, looking for flaws or modifications. He stopped suddenly as he saw an inscription on the underside of the watch face and he swallowed as his throat became a little tighter.

Khan,

Nobody loves me like you do

James

It amused him just how much that single line summarised their relationship; it was so true and so fitting for them. Either way you looked at it it suited them: no one love Khan like Jim did and no one loved Jim like Khan did. It fitted. Not to mention that it was incredibly important that James had allowed for his name to be placed at the bottom of the inscription; it showed beyond all doubt of the imagination that he was not ashamed of their relationship and that he was happy for the world to know about it and that was what meant the most to Khan. He slipped the time piece on his left wrist and looked at how the silver metal contrasted against his skin, giving it a polished and elegant appearance.

"It is perfect, thank you." he announced before he slid an arm around Jim's waist and pulled him against him, thanking him with a deep and toe curling kiss which left them both breathless and flushed

"That is a hell of a compliment coming from you."

"It deserved to be complimented." Khan breathed against his cheek, "Thank you, James."

"Any time." the blond answered before out of instinct he reached up and put his arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly and warmly, relishing the feeling of having the embrace returned wholeheartedly.

When they parted, the paused to look at each other before they shared a slightly awkward chuckle and set off down the street again this time hand in hand.

-/-

George Kirk paced the room slowly, the knuckle of his index finger pressed loosely against his chin as he considered his options very carefully and with a great deal of consideration. Everything needed to be perfect, everything had to go smoothly and everything had to be done with absolute success in the forefront of his mind.

He looked around suddenly as the sound of an opening door caught his attention and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as his long awaited accomplice finally arrived, ladded with two large duffel bags.

"About time you arrived, I've been waiting over two weeks." the former Starfleet Captain said snidely.

"Yes well, you know how it is... Returning from the dead to get revenge for the terrible things done to you takes some energy and motivation. Neither of which I had until you sent me this picture." the stranger answered solemnly before he held up the A4 sheet of paper which had a printed out picture of Jim and Khan kissing on the balcony of the apartment that they shared, "Who is the man he is with? And when do I get to kill him?"

George's eyes darkened with amusement and a chuckle escaped him as he saw the way the other's jaw clenched in anger, "Don't worry, there is all the time in the world to explain that. For now, get yourself unpacked and comfortable, we have a lot to discuss."