Khan sat perfectly still on the exam table as Dr. McCoy slowly waved the med scanner over his torso. The doctor noticed how Khan's gaze kept flicking over to Leo, who was sitting on a similar table and casually chatting with Wendy on the other side of the room.

"She's in good hands," the doctor assured Khan the next time he caught the Augment looking across the room. "Dr. Cole is the leading expert on your people, and she's been keeping a close eye on Leo."

Khan was about to reply when Kirk walked into the med bay. The two men had a brief stare down before Kirk walked over to talk to Bones.

"I thought I said that she was never allowed to leave her cell," the captain said, pointing his thumb in Leo's direction.

"I can't do a complete med check with just the scanner, Captain," Wendy replied over her shoulder. "I'm not a medical doctor, remember? Besides, Bones and I wanted to compare Leo and Khan."

"Oh . . . well, then I guess that's permitted," Kirk said.

Khan looked between the two, and watched as Wendy walked over to talk to Bones and Kirk. He was surprised that the captain would give in so easily, even if it was to a beautiful woman. But it soon became obvious that the two were attracted to each other. Khan looked over at Leo to see if she had noticed it as well. She just smirked and winked at him. So, she'd had something to do with bringing the two together. Well, Khan thought to himself, there were worse things she could've done to keep herself entertained.

"So, did you find anything?" Kirk was asking.

"Well, Leo's lost ten and a quarter pounds since she woke up," Wendy replied, looking at the notes on her tablet.

Khan hummed in disapproval.

"You noticed?" Wendy asked, looking up at him.

"Of course I noticed," he replied flatly.

"It looks like Khan is slightly stronger than Leo, but that's not surprising. Men do tend to be stronger than women by virtue of muscle structure," Wendy continued to read from the tablet.

"Yeah, but who's smarter?" Kirk asked.

"Leo," Khan replied. The three officers raised an eyebrow.

"Smart man," Bones commented. "By the time I figured that out, I was already divorced."

Khan gave him a why-the-hell-should-I-care look, but didn't say anything. Wendy just rolled her eyes.

"Well now we know why you're divorced," Kirk joked.

"Oh yeah, like you're any better," the doctor retorted.

Kirk waved him off dismissively and went to talk to Leo. Despite his initial dislike of the woman, Kirk and Leo had struck up a rather tenuous friendship. She was more personable than Khan and a lot easier to talk to. Leo had been paying attention to the conversation going on across the room, but rer gaze followed the captain as he walked over. Kirk gave her a nod in greeting, but she just tilted her head questioningly. A few moments of awkward silence followed. Well, awkward for Kirk.

"So," he said finally. "You weren't lying. You know, about you and Khan."

"No, I wasn't," she replied.

Kirk glanced over at the man in question. Khan must have felt him staring because he turned to look back at Kirk with his usual lazy, yet threatening, stare. The captain ignored him and continued his conversation with Leo.

"So . . . uh . . . are you guys really better at everything?" he asked, trying to start a conversation.

"We were designed to be," Leo replied. She didn't know where this was going, but she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

"Are you really better at, you know, everything?"

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Leo gave him a rather annoyed look, so Kirk wisely decided not to pursue the topic any further; but he was left fumbling for a different subject. He finally decided to ask a question that had been in the back of his mind for a while.

"Did you guys have any kids?"

Leo was taken aback. She looked at Kirk for a long moment before asking, "What?"

"You know, is one of the other seventy-one cryo-people your kid or something?"

"No," Leo replied too quickly.

She suddenly wouldn't look him in the eye. While on the other side of the room, Khan was enduring a conversation with Wendy and McCoy.

"You both appear to be in perfect health," Bones was saying.

"Of course we are," Khan rolled his eyes. "Our genetic modifications ensure that we suffer no health problems or illnesses."

"Do you heal faster as well?"

"Generally."

Bones looked over at Wendy, who was trying to busy herself with her tablet and the various instruments around the exam table.

"You're awfully quiet, Dr. Cole," he commented. "In fact, you've been awfully quiet since Khan's arrival on the ship."

Without warning, Wendy slammed her tablet on a nearby side table. Bones jumped slightly. Khan just blinked.

"You know what? I have been, but not anymore," she started angrily. She poked Khan in the chest. "You're an asshole. You know that, right?"

"Oh?" the Augment replied, unimpressed.

"Leo gave up everything. Everything. She gave up her beliefs, her ideals, everything she fought so hard for and the person she'd worked so hard to become. And what did you give up? Nothing. Jack shit. You have to be willing to make compromises in a relationship, not mold the other person into who you want them to be. So don't try to tell me that you love her. Because you don't."

Khan's expression darkened and his eyebrows knit together in anger, but just as he was about to make a curt reply, a loud crash came from across the room. All three of their heads turned towards the sound. Dozens of small medical instruments now lay scattered on the floor between Leo and Kirk. The captain had jumped back a good six feet in order to avoid the flying objects. His eyes were wide in shock as he looked from the floor back up to Leo.

She was still sitting on the exam table, her left arm resting on a now empty metal side table. Her left hand deftly fingered a scalpel as she stared down the captain of the Enterprise. The guards raised their phasers, preparing for an attack.

"Leo . . ." Khan's tone was different than the way he usually said her name. It wasn't affectionate; it was a warning. An order.

At first, Leo didn't respond. She kept staring at Kirk and caressing the smooth handle of the scalpel. Khan slid off of the exam table and took a few steps towards her. And in that moment, he was no longer her lover, but her leader. Her captain. And he was going to make sure she stayed in line.

"Leo," he repeated. "Put. It. Down."

Another couple of tense seconds passed before Leo slowly laid the scalpel back on the table. Khan's expression softened as he walked over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes, trying to rein in her anger and regain control of her emotions. Kirk waved over a couple of guards.

"I believe Ms. Aristov has become . . . stressed by all the commotion in the med bay," he said. "Please escort her back to her cell so she can calm down."

The guards responded with a "yes, sir," before cuffing Leo and leading her out of the med bay. Khan watched her leave in silence. Bones and Wendy walked over to see if their captain was alright.

"What the hell was that?" Bones asked.

"Just a temper tantrum," Khan assured them before turning his gaze to Kirk. "What did you say to her?"

"I was only joking!" the captain defended.

"What did you say?" Khan was quickly getting tired of having to repeat himself.

"I asked her if you guys had any kids. She tried to brush it off, so I figured she was shy about it or something. So I was teasing her," Kirk explained.

Khan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You do know what teasing is, don't you?" Kirk asked.

"Children are a very . . . sore subject for Leo," Khan said, choosing to ignore Kirk's last question.

"How come?" Wendy asked.

"Because," Khan replied. "Leo is sterile."

Yes, I'm evil. This story is co-written with TheWooze19. Please don't forget to leave a review!