To say Sabine was agitated as she walked home from Section 31 headquarters that evening would be an understatement. She had never been a fan of the secretive organisation and now she felt a well of deep hatred rise up inside her, especially for Admiral Marcus. She didn't like that he'd manipulated her so skillfully into revealing her abilities, she was tired of being followed, and she'd be damned if they thought they could use Leo to force her into decisions she didn't want to agree to.
It was with this mindset that she realized a few minutes into her walk home she was being followed. This both enraged her further and worried her because she knew Section 31 agents were better at tracking than this so now it appeared they were just trying to piss her off.
"À malin, malin et demi," she thought with grim determination.
She made a detour into a park and once there, wandered off the lit path, into the darkness and trees, aware that her tracker wasn't far behind. In a clearing, Sabine stopped, pretending to be deep in thought, waiting for the tracker to get closer. There was something different about this one. He was too obvious. In the past, she'd never been quite sure when she was being followed and she certainly hadn't been able to pinpoint exactly which person was following her. But this guy, dressed in dark clothes, face covered by a hooded sweatshirt, was practically screaming, "I'm following you," and it scared her more than the faceless trackers. Was this the agent she had left on the floor? Was he seeking revenge or had Admiral Marcus sent someone else after her? She wondered if this was it – had she been so difficult to Section 31 that they'd decided to get rid of her? She knew they had it in them – at least Marcus did.
Well, if they thought they could take her out that easily, they had another thing coming. She hadn't made it this far, survived this much shit, to be taken out by these assholes. They were amateurs compared to what she'd dealt with before.
As the tracker crept closer, she prepared herself to do whatever necessary to live. He was only a couple of feet away. It amazed her that he was being so brash. She clenched her fists ready to attack.
The tracker reached out to grab her shoulder from behind and she spun into action, grabbing his arm off of her and twisting it, while clocking him in the jaw with her free hand. Her former training was really coming in handy tonight.
"Sabs, it's me," the man moaned as he crumpled to the ground.
"Jim?" She was so confused. Was Jim a part of Section 31? How?
"What the hell?" she cried while simultaneously sinking to his side to get a look at his injuries. She was grateful she'd decided to be lenient and only hit him.
"Jesus, where'd you learn to punch like that? We're adding that to the list of things we need to discuss." He grimaced as she touched his jaw to determine if she'd broken it. She hadn't – he'd be fine. Sore but fine. All the same, he probably needed a dermal regenerator for the lip.
"Why were you following me? You are lucky I did not kill you," and something in her tone made Jim realize she wasn't kidding.
"The fact that you can kill is now also on the list," he muttered, not wanting to move his rapidly swelling jaw and busted lip.
"What list? What are you talking about? Why were you being so obvious in following me?"
"Until you decked me, I thought I was doing a pretty good job," he grumbled, his wounded pride showing.
"Mmm, you are wrong. Now tell me what this is about," she retorted.
He glared at her for a moment and then begrudgingly answered.
"I wanted to talk to you about some stuff," he mumbled, the words hard to understand due to his injuries.
"What stuff?" she persisted. She knew she ought to get him to the clinic, or at the least, to his apartment where Leo's med kit might be available. She certainly wasn't taking him to her place. She wasn't ready to spend time in her dorm now that she suspected it was a direct feed to Section 31.
"Why were you at Section 31 headquarters? Why are your school and medical files top secret? Why won't you tell Bones about your past? Just what are your intentions with my best friend?"
The questions flooded out at once and after he finished, Jim grimaced again in pain.
"We need to get you to a med kit," Sabine responded, avoiding his questions. Jim was having none of it.
"Med kits can wait," he spoke with an authority she'd never heard from him. So this was Jim Kirk, top of his class and captain-in-training. "You're gonna tell me what your deal is."
"And if I do not?"
"I tell Bones everything I suspect about you – that you're an agent for Section 31 and you're dangerous."
"I am not an agent and Leo does not believe Section 31 exists."
"Well then, I tell him you're cheating on him."
"What? That is not true and you know it."
"Doesn't matter what I know. He suspected you were seeing someone on the side once. I doubt it would take much effort to convince him again, especially with how weird you act sometimes. So if I decide to sabotage your relationship, what will you do?"
Sabine was starting to wish she'd punched him harder.
"This is blackmail," she said bitterly.
"It's me protecting my friend from a woman who's lying to him. Now you can tell me what you're lying about or I can make assumptions… or lies…that I will then share with Bones because I don't want him to get hurt again."
Jim folded his arms and gave her a look that would have been smug if the lower part of his face could have cooperated. She stared at him, feeling frustration brimming inside her. This night was really starting to suck and she didn't need this jerk adding to her problems. This jerk who cared about Leo as much as she did. She took a cleansing breath.
"You know I love him," she replied. "Surely that has been clear in spite of our arguments…"
"I want to believe you love him. But why all the lies? The refusal to answer simple questions? And again, what were you doing just now at Section 31?"
"How did you know that was Section 31? No one knows what is inside that building….except people involved with them." Her eyes narrowed and it was Jim's turn to be on the hot seat.
"How about this," he proposed. "I tell you how I know about Section 31 if you do the same."
"Why would I tell you things I will not tell Leo?"
"Because I'm not him. I'm just a friend who wants the best – preferably for both of you but if you force me to choose, I'll side with Bones. Besides, doesn't all this lying and deceit get tiring after a while?"
Something in his question struck her. He knew what it was like to lie – and to lie to a lot of people. She wasn't sure how she knew, but in that instant, she was aware that she had more in common with Jim than she'd previously thought. There were hidden depths to Jim Kirk. But he was still threatening her relationship.
"And if I tell you, you run back and tell Leo, yes? So I lose either way."
"Not necessarily. Whatever you have to tell me, I'll keep confidential – if you promise me you'll share it with Bones. And not just that you promise you'll do it soon – I mean you stop putting it off and tell him the truth."
"I do not know if I can do that," she whispered, real fear evident in her expression.
"What if I can help you?" he asked gently.
"How?"
"I don't know. I need to know exactly what I'm trying to help you with."
She shook her head.
"Look," he persisted. "Maybe it'll be nice to finally talk to someone – to finally stop hiding so much. And maybe we'll find a way to tell Bones."
"I have people I can talk to," she said stubbornly, but he could feel her resistance crumbling.
"Yeah, I know. You've got your group of twelve or whatever. But you guys don't talk about it, do you? At least, you don't."
"How do you know?"
Jim knew he needed to tread lightly in his response but at the same time, he wanted to be truthful with her so that she'd trust him.
"Because I asked Taty, Maria, John – every one of them said the same thing – you don't talk about whatever happened. And they worry about you."
He braced himself for her anger over his investigation. But the anger didn't come.
"You talked to the group? All of them?" she asked meekly.
"As many as I could. And I didn't just do it because I'm worried about Bones. I like you, Sabs. I think you could end up being the best thing that will ever happen to him. But I don't think it's good for you to keep whatever this is inside."
"If I tell you…I cannot believe I am even contemplating this…if I tell you, promise you will not tell Leo. Let me find a way to tell him. He would be furious to know I told you and not him."
Sabine wasn't sure why she was considering telling Jim everything. Maybe because he knew Section 31 was a real thing. Maybe because she felt a kinship with him that she hadn't felt before. Or maybe because she was still dealing with the adrenaline rush from what had happened tonight. All she knew was that she was seriously considering unburdening herself to this smart ass with pretty eyes.
"I promise. Whatever you tell me stays between us for now. But you have to promise me you're gonna tell him."
She visibly gulped. "Okay." Her voice was shaky. "But we cannot talk here. We should go back to your place or somewhere else – far away from Section 31 – we need to be out of earshot."
He didn't question her. He'd had enough experience with Section 31 to understand what she meant.
"I'm pretty sure Bones is working tonight so we'll be alone at my place," he offered.
"My place has a med kit – we should pick it up on the way," she responded, knowing Leo would have taken his kit with him to the clinic. Jim's jaw would be fine but it needed to be seen to nonetheless.
"Okay. We get your kit and head to our place."
He jumped up and extended his hand to Sabine to help her up. She took it and he marveled at how such a tiny hand had packed such a wallop. Whatever her story was, he was looking forward to hearing it. But he tempered his excitement by thinking of his own concealed past. If she had experienced similar… well, he wouldn't wish that on anyone.
They made limited small talk on their way to her dorm and then to his apartment. She seemed to be deep in thought and Jim didn't want to seem glib about what was obviously a difficult choice for her. A choice he had forced on her, even if it was for the best. He knew how he'd feel if the tables were turned and he tried to act accordingly.
Jim half-expected Sabine to find some excuses once they reached his place but instead, she was all business. She quickly took care of his jaw, used the dermal regenerator on his busted lip, and gave him a hypo for the pain. The gentleness of her hypo administration was all the proof Jim needed that Bones really was doing all he could to make them hurt when he gave them. Jim made a mental note to seek Sabine out for any future hypos.
Once he'd been attended to, Sabine sat next to Jim and looked him in the eye.
"We can do this one of two ways. I can tell you everything…or I can show you what you want to know."
"Show me?" He was confused.
"Yes. Via a mind meld – not a full meld – but enough to give you the general idea. It will be quicker but you might get nauseous."
"Definitely show me."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Cass does it sometimes when she wants to share something privately. It's cool." Sabine hadn't realized that Cass and Jim were close enough for Cass to communicate with him telepathically. But she was also pretty sure that whatever Cass and Jim had done was a lot different than what they were about to do.
"Do you ever get sick when you and Cass share a connection?"
"The first few times, I mighta felt a little queasy. But I've gotten used to it now."
"Mmm…," she seemed hesitant. "I am not as good at this as Cass. You may get sick because I am still mastering my control of it."
"It'll be okay. You already punched me tonight. What's a little additional nausea between friends?" he smiled, hoping to put her at ease.
"I am really sorry about that. I thought you were someone else. I was prepared for a fight that did not happen…"
"Don't worry about it. Most of the time, when a girl hits me, she knows exactly who she's hitting."
That made Sabine laugh and the mood in the apartment shifted ever so slightly. Jim could still feel the underlying tension radiating from Sabine but she seemed to relax a little bit. And she was preparing herself to share her story, which Jim was not-so-secretly thrilled about. He thought telepathy was great – he'd never had any hang ups about befriending telepaths and letting them use their abilities on him. But that was Jim in a nutshell; seeking out any and all risks.
"I will take off one glove and touch your arm. You will see enough of my past to understand and if you have additional questions, we will talk afterwards. It will feel like we have been connected for a long time – "
"Yeah, I know – but it'll only be a few seconds. I'm ready." He held out his arm to her with an impish look on his face and Sabine was struck by how willing he was to run towards the things most people ran away from. Jim really was going to make a good captain someday. Or get everyone killed. It was hard to say which outcome would be more likely.
"Let's do this," he prodded, again proffering his arm to her. Sabine winced but removed the glove from her left hand.
"Mmm. Here goes," she said timidly, touching his arm with her palm flat against it. He felt the heat and then the white light appeared but then everything went haywire.
