A/N: Kleenex warning - it's THAT chapter. I hope I did it justice.
Jim followed closely behind Khan as they made their way to the bridge of the Vengeance. He felt briefly upset about his plan but then he remembered Pike's motionless body and the guilt fled. He forced himself to focus on getting to the bridge in one piece so that his scent didn't change and alert Khan.
The lights overhead suddenly blazed on and Khan began to run with Jim and Scotty in tow. They had no choice, they had to reach the bridge before the ship could use its freshly powered weapons on the Enterprise. Bursting into the bridge, Jim began firing the minute he picked up a target. One by one, bodies fell until no crew was left standing. Jim moved to stand in front of the admiral and gave a brief nod to Scotty. The engineer abruptly stunned Khan.
"Make sure he stays down," Jim ordered.
Scotty moved to cover Khan with a polite "excuse me" to Carol Marcus who stood staring in disbelief at the man who'd actually brought her father to bay.
"Admiral Marcus," Jim said. "You're under arrest."
Marcus regarded Kirk with amusement. "You're not actually going to do this, are you?"
"Admiral, get out of the chair," Jim ordered.
The elder alpha growled. "You better stop and think about what you're doing, Kirk. You'd better think about what you did on Qo'noS – you made an incursion onto an enemy planet! You killed a Klingon patrol! Even if you got away without a trace ... war is coming and who's gonna lead us?! You?! If I'm not in charge, our entire way of life is decimated!" The admiral's face was red with anger. "So if you want me off this ship, you better kill me."
Jim heard the challenge in the older man's voice. He had no doubt that Marcus had actually had fought a few alpha duels in his time – as antiquated as the idea was, it still happened. He also had no doubt that if he'd met the man before Pike, he probably would have taken him up on it. Now, however, he was different. Pike and McCoy had changed him ... Starfleet had changed him. He wasn't the same hotheaded young alpha he'd been not five years ago. He kept his weapon trained on Marcus and snarled,
"I'm not going to kill you, sir," Jim said, blue eyes flashing. "But I can stun you and drag your sorry ass out of that chair if I have to – I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter." Jim glanced over at Carol. "Are you alright?"
The beta looked at him and nodded. "Yes, captain."
Jim turned back to Marcus when Khan suddenly surged up from the floor and clubbed Scotty. Jim barely had time to register the man was conscious before Khan was flying over the navigation console and tackling him to the deck. Marcus was up and running while Khan laid Kirk out with a punch. Khan snarled in his own rage as he began to methodically repay Jim for every blow he'd received on Qo'noS. Jim couldn't believe how badly the strikes hurt. It was then that Khan grabbed him by the hair and dragged him aloft in front of him.
"By the time I am finished, McCoy won't remember he ever had an alpha other than myself. Mine will be the only name on his lips and he will beg for the honor of carrying my offspring," Khan growled.
The thought of Bones being broken by this man drove Jim into a rage and he began to fight back but he didn't have the strength to take on the warrior. Khan drove his knee into Jim's midsection and slammed him against the console. As Jim crumpled to the ground, Khan stalked over to Marcus. Carol attempted to stop him but he only tossed her aside and shattered her leg with one well-placed stomp of his boot. Her scream cut through Jim's consciousness and he managed to push himself upright just in time to see Khan crush a man's skull with his bare hands. As Carol screamed again, what was left of Admiral Alexander Marcus fell to a bloody heap on the floor.
Jim groaned in pain as Khan held him upright before the view screen of the Vengeance. Spock and the bridge of the Enterprise coalesced before him.
"I will make this very simple, Captain. Your crew for my crew," Khan said.
"You betrayed us," Spock accused.
"Oh you are smart, Mr. Spock," Khan sneered.
Jim met his second-in-command's eyes and ordered, "Spock don't - "
Khan's fist landed on Kirk's back, sending stars shooting across his vision as he fell to the deck, barely conscious. He wanted to stand up but his body wouldn't cooperate. Instead, he lay helpless while Khan conversed with Spock.
"Mr. Spock, give me my crew," Khan requested.
"And what will you do when you get them?" Spock asked.
"We will continue the work we were doing before we were banished," Khan replied.
"Which, as I understand it, involves the mass genocide of any you find to be less than superior."
"Shall I destroy you, Mr. Spock? Or will you give me what I want?" Khan asked, his patience quickly drawing to an end.
Jim wanted to tell Spock to stop negotiating. The man would kill them all anyway. Jim's thoughts drifted to Bones. He remembered Khan's promise about his omega and heat began to pool in his gut – anger and determination in equal amounts.
"We have no transporter capabilities," Spock advised.
"Fortunately, mine are perfectly functional," Khan responded. "Drop your shields."
"If I do so, I have no guarantee that you will not destroy the Enterprise," Spock countered.
Khan sighed. "Let's play this out logically, then, Mr. Spock. Firstly, I will kill your captain to demonstrate my resolve. Then, if yours holds, I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew."
"If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people."
"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not. I will target your life support systems located behind the aft nacelle. And after every single person aboard your ship suffocates, I will walk over your cold corpses to retrieve to recover my people." Khan glanced down at Kirk, who was beginning to struggle to push himself up off the floor. "I will, of course, be sure to transport Dr. McCoy into a secure holding area aboard this ship prior to the demise of the crew. Captain Kirk knows his destiny from there." He looked back up at Spock. "Now then ... shall we begin?"
"Lower shields, Mr. Sulu," Spock ordered.
Khan sneered. "A wise choice, Mr. Spock." He slammed his booted foot into Jim's midsection and walked to the console while the younger alpha gasped for air. "I see your 72 torpedoes are still in their tubes. If they are not mine, Commander, I will know it."
"Vulcans do not lie." Spock said coolly. "The torpedoes are yours."
Khan tapped over the controls quickly and beamed the torpedoes aboard the Vengeance. "Thank you, Mr. Spock."
"I have fulfilled your terms," Spock said. "Now fulfill mine."
"Well, Kirk, it seems apt to return you to your crew. After all, no ship should go down without her captain. Tell your omega I will always recall him fondly."
Jim blinked as they coalesced in the brig of the Enterprise. Scotty slammed his foot against the barrier. "Let us out of here!" They all fell again as the ship was buffeted by phaser fire.
Grabbing Carol between them, Jim and Scotty dragged her down the corridor to medical as the ship continued to rock under fire. Spock's voice came over the shipwide comm. "Crew of the Enterprise, prepare for imminent proximity detonation."
"What's he talking about? What detonation?" Scotty bleated.
"The torpedoes," Jim realized. "He armed the damn torpedoes!"
Racing into medical, Jim yelled out, "Bones!"
The doctor motioned them toward an empty bed and they deposited Carol onto it. A nurse quickly took over. Jim locked eyes with his omega.
"Good to see you, Jim," McCoy said with a grin.
"You helped Spock detonate those torpedoes?" Jim asked in disbelief.
"Damn right, I did!" Bones replied.
"He killed Khan's crew!" Jim said in shock.
Bones leaned close to his mate. "Spock's cold but he's not that cold. I've got Khan's crew," Leonard explained, pointing. "72 human popsicles, safe and sound in their cryo tubes."
"Son of a bitch," Jim muttered.
Then the lights went out and the ship began to heel to one side, throwing Jim against the bio bed behind him with an armful of his mate. Before Leonard could extricate himself, Jim yanked him into a kiss that was bruising and deep. He held him there for a minute before the ship eased a little and Jim could release his mate. Bones looked at his captain, exasperated.
"Let them report me," Jim said softly. "I just want you to know, no matter what happens, I will always ... always love you."
Jim pushed away before Bones could respond and was racing out the door with Scotty. Bones began yelling orders to his staff. "Engage emergency lockdown!"
Hooking up Carol's restraints, he smiled grimly. "I hope you don't get seasick, Commander."
"No ... do you?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Doctor, I apologize for -"
Leonard shook his head. "Sweetheart, I sure as hell don't blame you for trying," he said with a light grin. "But next time I may be sorely tempted to forget my manners."
Carol nodded with a smile and Bones moved off to secure the rest of the bay. He sent as much love as he could to his link with Jim. It was all he could offer until he saw his mate again. Which he hoped would be sooner rather than later.
Jim struggled to stay upright as he and Scotty ran down the corridors headed to engineering. He felt Bones' touch of their bond and smiled in spite of the situation. He couldn't wait until this was said and done and they were alone together ... he intended to spend some serious time apologizing to his mate for everything. He intended to enjoy it, too.
"One day I've been off this ship!" Scotty complained. "One bloody day!"
Jim was swept off his feet as the entire ship flipped on his side. He and Scotty were able to grab the railing on one of the skywalks that crossed the central shaft of the ship's saucer section. He had to watch helplessly as one of his crew slid past, screaming. His crew ... Bones ...
"There won't be time for evacuation if we don't get power to stabilize the damn ship!" Scotty yelled, as they dangled, caught at the mercy of a spinning ship.
"Can we restore it?" Jim yelled back.
"Only from engineering," Scotty explained. "We have to get back to the warp core!"
Scotty pulled himself up as he stared up into a nightmare of crew members hanging on for their lives. Jim glanced up and swallowed hard before yelling, "Scotty, we got to get the power back on! Come on!"
Racing through the tossing ship's corridors, Jim and Scotty managed to keep their feet as the walls became floors and hallways suddenly became shafts of death. Leaping over one such chasm, Jim and Scotty continued on to engineering. They raced along catwalks and down steps, fighting to get through to the warp core. As they crossed a long catwalk, the ship slid to one side, dumping them against the railing. A large piece of something came crashing down and bounced off the catwalk before plunging on past. The impact jarred them both over the edge but they were able to grab hold. It was a near thing.
Jim looked over and saw that Scotty's hands were slipping as they swung over the void. The beta looked terrified as his grip released and he started to plunge downward. Jim reached out and was just able to grab Scotty's arm. He ignored the flare of agony in his shoulder as he held on. The combined weight of himself and Scotty was going to be too much, Jim knew but he also knew he would hold on as tightly as he could for as long as he could.
He felt a faint twinge of fear from McCoy and he opened the link between them. His mate's terror flooded through and Jim felt the omega desperately trying to reign it in to no avail. Jim knew how Bones felt about flying on a good day ... he could only imagine that this was Bones' worst nightmare come to life. He pushed his own fear down and concentrated on Leonard for a moment. In a reverse of their roles, Jim sent calm reassurance to the link. He felt the shaky gratitude of his mate but then he had to release the link as he felt his grip beginning to loosen.
Scotty squeezed his eyes shut as he realized Jim wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. When Jim's hand released, he waited for the plunge to his death, but it never came. Instead, Jim felt his wrist grasped tightly by two very strong hands and opened his eyes to see Chekov clinging desperately to his captain.
"I've got you, keptin!" Chekov called. The young omega fought against the inexorable pull of gravity and then the ship began to slowly right itself. Jim and Scotty were able to pull themselves back over the railing. Jim rotated his injured shoulder as he followed Scotty and McCoy through the maze of engineering.
"Even if we get the warp core online, we've still got to redirect the power!" Scotty yelled over the din.
"He's right keptin!" Chekov agreed.
"What are you talking about?" Jim hollered.
"Someone has to hit the manual override. There's a switch ..."
"Behind the deflector dish! I'll flip the switch!" Chekov yelled.
Jim and Scotty ran past the shuttle bays and watched in horror as the shifting Enterprise dropped shuttles out of their bays into a pile of useless scrap below. Jim tugged on Scotty's shirt and pulled him toward their destination. They couldn't afford to grieve yet.
As Scotty and Jim scrambled around the core to the control console, a warning klaxon began to sound.
Core misaligned. Danger. Core misaligned. Danger.
"Oh no no no!" Scotty moaned.
"What?" Jim demanded.
"The housings are misaligned! There's no way we can redirect the power! The ship's dead, sir. She's gone." Scotty said helplessly.
Jim looked toward the core and then said, "No, she's not."
Scotty chased after his captain. "Wait, Jim!"
"If we go in there, we'll die!" Scotty yelled. "Do you hear me? The radiation will kill us! Will you listen to me?" Scotty pleaded. He gaped at Jim as the alpha tapped in an override code to open the door to the core. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"I'm opening the door, Scotty. I'm going in ..." Jim said, shrugging off Scotty's restraining hand.
"That door is there to stop us from getting irradiated! We'd be dead before we made the climb!" Scotty screamed, hoping that he could get through to the headstrong young man.
Jim paused. He suddenly knew with absolute clarity what he had to do.
"You're not making the climb …"
Jim's fist caught Scotty direct on the chin, snapping the man's head back and knocking him out. Jim dragged him quickly to a nearby console chair and strapped him in before racing back to the housings. Finishing his override entry, Jim opened the compartment and entered, locking it behind him.
Jim thought of his mate as the door shut behind him. Bones ...
Focused on what he had to do, Jim did not allow himself to consider what this was going to do to his omega mate. By entering the chamber, he'd already exposed himself to a deadly dose of radiation - there was no turning back. He allowed the bond to fall silent, knowing his mate would respect that to the best of his ability. When he felt the emptiness form along their link, he knew he'd succeeded. Bones wouldn't touch the link until Jim did.
You're going to hate me, Bones ... but I couldn't not try. I couldn't let the ship ... let you ... die.
His very skeleton hurt, the frame of his body felt as thought it were cracking with every agonized step he made. Every nerve ending in his body was screaming at him that this was wrong, that poison was settling into his very cells … that he was dying.
Jim ignored it all. The mantra that ran through his mind was protect ship, protect crew, protect Bones.
The crawl through the Jefferies tube seemed to take forever. Jim's body seemed to grow heavier with each movement until he was fighting just to keep going forward. He finally emerged into the core and could see the misaligned housings. He began another aching effort to climb over and around tubes and piping to reach them. The chamber echoed with the pained cries of a dying man fighting his own body to do what had to be done.
Slowly reaching the base of the core housing, Jim found handholds and a reserve of strength he didn't know he had. His arms and injured shoulder protested loudly with each kick, but Jim pulled his feet up and slammed them against the housing supports, trying to push them back into place. With each kick, Jim sucked in ragged breaths that burned like acid. His eyes stung and he fought to keep his vision focused.
One more kick ... almost there ...
The last blow reverberated through Jim like a hammer blow. The housing slid into place and Jim cried out as the release of energy slammed him off the support and left him to fall down to the decking. He lay in crumpled agony on the plates for a moment, certain he was bleeding internally ... that his organs were shutting down. It didn't matter. His ship had the chance it needed. His mate ... Bones ... had a chance to live.
Bones felt the ship right itself from where he sat, strapped into a chair, gripping the armrests hard enough to crack them. The last few minutes had been among the most terrifying of his life and he was grateful Jim had been able to connect with him however briefly to keep him from devolving into full-blown hysteria. He'd let the bond go silent when Jim did – he supposed Scotty and Jim had been intent on fixing whatever was wrong with the ship and he couldn't afford the distraction. But as the power began to slowly resume, Bones sighed with relief and, against his judgment, he sent relief and gratitude through the link, hoping it didn't piss Jim off too badly.
The response made his blood freeze – it was so faint ... the barest echo of his mate's normally strong presence.
"Jim?" Leonard whispered, frantically releasing himself from the restraints.
Dr. McCoy? Scotty's voice sounded broken over the comm.
"McCoy here," Bones replied weakly. He was already moving to the door, eyes focused straight ahead, not seeing anything. He did not want Scotty to say anything else but the engineer did – and McCoy's entire world shattered.
You need to come to engineering, Leonard. Now.
McCoy broke into a run before Scotty was finished speaking. He clutched at the bond as he flew down the corridors with little heed to anyone or anything that got in his way. Jim was hurt ... in a good deal of pain, although his mate was holding back, trying to shield him. Bones cursed, he hadn't grabbed his kit as he bolted from sick bay.
Stupid ... how do you intend to treat him when you get there? Bones' mind chastised him. He ignored the other voice ... the one that whispered that Jim was beyond treatment and that was why they'd called him.
Leonard kept pressing against the bond, trying to get Jim to open up completely to him. His mate was distracted by something ... McCoy felt a surge of warmth toward someone ... and an underlying sense of farewell. McCoy slipped and nearly fell rounding a corner. He refused to contemplate what that emotion had meant ... Jim was hurt ... confused. He wouldn't be making sense so there was no point in assuming the worst, Leonard desperately reasoned. Reaching engineering, McCoy made his way unerringly through the warp core elements, following Jim's scent.
He shouldn't have been able to scent his mate at all. The suppressants were still in his system … but there it was, clear as day and strong as ever. He saw Scotty and Uhura hovering just behind Spock, who crouched before a door that led to the core itself. McCoy's heart stuttered as the reality of what he was seeing seeped into his mind.
Jim asked a question of Spock who — wonder of all wonders — was crying.
"Because you are my friend," Spock replied to Jim's question.
Leonard swallowed past the lump in his throat. The Vulcan finally understood the very human reason Jim had risked everything to pull him out of the volcano. McCoy saw Spock press his hand against the glass view port in a very Vulcan gesture. He saw Jim return it as best he could. Spock stood and turned away, squeezing McCoy's shoulder before stepping back to stand near Scotty and Uhura.
Bones slid to his knees in the space vacated by Spock and pressed his forehead to the glass. "Jim?"
"B-b-ones …" Jim whispered, smiling at his mate.
Bones could no longer rationalize his fear away. He gave a very un-McCoy-like whimper. "Why … ?" he asked.
He knew the answer. Of course he knew the answer ... but his heart wanted to believe that somehow, the Jim Kirk luck would win out. For all his surety that one day Jim would leave him – Leonard McCoy had refused to truly believe it would actually happen. He wanted to scream but Leonard found he couldn't look away, couldn't stop staring into the beautiful blue eyes that he awoke to nearly every morning.
Jim leaned forward, pressing his own forehead to the glass in imitation of the intimate gesture they often shared. "You know … h-h-had to do it ... couldn't l-let you die ... B-bones."
Leonard gave a soul-deep groan. "I know, darlin' … you always do what has to be done … and you did good. God I'm so proud of you, kid," Bones said brokenly.
Jim's eyes brightened slightly. All the commendations in the galaxy and James T. Kirk was still the insecure boy from Iowa who just wanted to know he did well — that he mattered. Bones was grateful he could give him that.
"Should have … k-known you were … it when … when you did-didn't leave m-me behind," Jim said.
Bones could not stop the tears streaming down his face, remembering the look on Jim's face when he pulled him along to begin their adventures by sneaking him on the Enterprise.
"Was always ... always you, Jim," Leonard's voice faded to a harsh pleading whisper. "Please don't leave me ..."
Jim's omega was one of the strongest men he knew, but the bond betrayed him. Jim could feel Bones starting to let go - the indomitable will was disintegrating in the face of a loss the doctor refused to endure. Jim simply couldn't let that happen after everything, so he focused his thoughts and pushed at their bond. "D-do-don't give up ... y-y-you live, Bones – live ..."
Bones felt and heard the implicit alpha command. His eyes widened in shock as the automatic omega response flooded him, then Leonard began to shake his head desperately.
"No!" Bones begged. "Jim ... please don't make me stay here ... let me be with you … god, please don't … I can't …"
" ... c-can ... live, o-om-omega ..." Jim said firmly, filling the bond between them with his demand - his last order to an officer, a final request to his mate.
Bones' expression crumpled. He'd never hated his biology more than that instant – he was hardwired to comply with his mate's commands. Jim had effectively stolen his only escape from the anguish of losing half his heart. A pained sound escaped his lips as Leonard nodded. "Ye-yes, alpha ... "
Jim gave Bones the same wide smile as the night Leonard had accepted his claim, wrapping himself in their bond and feeling the peace he'd been searching for all his life. Jim found he wasn't afraid any longer. He said softly, "L-love you so m-m-much, Bones."
Leonard swallowed repeatedly before he could speak. "Love you too ... Ji-Jim ..."
"Mine." Jim smiled.
"Yours." Bones whispered.
Jim's blue eyes found his mate's hazel ones. He was glad he'd finally gotten the nerve to ask Leonard to be his omega. His happiest memories began that night ... the man had never given up on Jim, never failed to come when he called, he'd given everything to and for his alpha. Jim hoped that was what waited for him on the other side – an eternity of memories of his mate … of his Bones.
For an instant there was no glass between them and no one else in the universe but Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy.
The instant passed and Leonard saw Jim's eyes focus on something over his shoulder as a smile teased the soft lips he loved to kiss. The blue eyes dimmed and Jim exhaled slowly. Leonard slapped his hand helplessly against the glass when there was no following inhale. As his mate's body slumped away from the door, their bond faded and went silent. Grief-stricken howls tore out of the omega's frame as he clutched at his collar and slammed his fist against the glass over and over again.
Behind him, Uhura pressed her hands to her mouth and buried her face against Spock's chest. Scotty stood, biting his lower lip and trying desperately not to cry ... but failing miserably. Jim was gone.