Bones could feel the sun rising and the heat reaching his body through the gnarly tree limbs. It was his second day out of the Enterprise and things were not going as planned. He had nearly passed out while on his horse from lack of food and water and he almost became lost when he stumbled upon what he thought was a lake, but was just a patch of dirt.

Bones huffed as he looked at what he had stumbled upon. Nothing. No water. He held his Pasha close to his hip, pulling it out. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it, but he knew that he wouldn't be killing anybody. There was no one around to kill. Except himself. Sighing, Bones raised the gun up to his head.

"It's been good knowing ya." He said to no one in particular.

Just as he was about pull the trigger, there was a noise that startled him. The sounds of hooves riding up behind him. He turned around quickly and saw three men advancing towards him. They were all dressed in black and had a menacing look on their faces.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Bones asked, putting the gun down by his side.

"Are you Leonard McCoy?" The man riding the front of the group asked. Bones froze. How did they know his name? Were they here to come and take him and kill him for a bounty?

"…Yes, I am…" He slowly nodded towards the group. "Why, you gonna kill me?"

"No. We have a message to relay to you." The man said, keeping his hold on the reigns of his horse, tight.

"What's the message?" Bones asked, silently hoping that it would be from Enterprise. Maybe asking him to come back?

"Your…boyfriend is being held hostage by Khan, an outlaw from Europe." The man started and looked behind him at the other two men. The other two nodded their heads and the man looked back at Bones. "And…he is being…rode like a bull at a rodeo…and tortured." The man grimaced as he said those words. Bones would have found it amusing if it weren't for the fact that Khan was possibly raping his boyfriend.

"What?!" Bones exclaimed, jumping back on his horse, riding towards the group, gun held out. "Tell me, where did you hear this?" He asked.

"From town locals…" The man muttered.

"Thank you." Bones nodded and dismissed the man, kicking his horse's side, pushing it into a gallop. He had to reach town within that one day. He had to stop and kill Khan. If he was hurting Pavel beyond his limits, then Bones was going to make sure that Khan was going to die a slow and painful death.

While he rode towards Enterprise, all that was going through his mind was killing Khan. Ending him, watching the man bleed out slowly as Bones shot him with a bullet from Pasha. He would get what was coming for him. He would kill Khan. That was his goal. And save Pavel.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+ (TIME JUMP)

Bones could see the familiar metal sign approaching him. It read Enterprise on the top and he knew that he had made it. He had made it to the town that he had been exiled from because he loved a man. And he was back to save that same boy. It had been tough traveling straight through the day without any breaks in between, but he felt like it was worth it. It better be worth it and not a damn set up.

As he entered through the entryway, he saw townspeople milling about like nothing had ever happened to them. He looked all over for people he knew, but didn't see anyone. No Jim, Spock, Sulu…none of them. Confused, he rode farther into town, stopping his horse at the Saloon. He jumped off and tied his horse to the post, then walked inside to see if he could find anyone.

Pavel lay next to the window, un-gagged and untied, except for his ankle, which was tied to a metal loop in the wall so he couldn't move. His face was bruised and his lip was bloody. His neck was lined with hurtful bruises that Khan's mouth had given him. His legs were weak and his whole body felt like it had been lit on fire and then extinguished moments later.

He whimpered and barely had enough strength to keep his head against the windowsill. Khan had called him 'his bitch' and now Pavel feared that he would be stuck here forever without any help. It was only then, that he saw the familiar black horse and man ride into town.

"Leo!" He cried out weakly, his voice, cracking. He knew that Bones wouldn't hear it, but didn't feel like giving up. "Leo…leave…" He muttered. "Don't get caught." The last thing he wanted was for Khan to catch Leonard and there being no way back for Leo to come to him.

Khan walked into the room, listening to Pavel's conversation with the window. He grinned just a little as he saw the boy in his current condition. "Hello…" He started softly, which made Pavel jumped and shrink into a ball, covering up his poor, naked body with his clothes.

"Please. Nyet, nyet!" Pavel whined.

"I'm not going to hurt you. No no no." Khan shook his head. "McCoy's here and its time for you to put on your show. You just stay here. I'll have my men come and get you."

"I vill not coming villingly." Pavel hissed through his teeth.

Khan walked forward a few steps, glaring at Pavel. "I'm sure you're going to want to come willingly. I've ordered these men certain tasks to do if you do not come with them in a peaceful manner." The words that came out of Khan's tongue terrified Pavel.

"Fine zen…let zem come." He muttered.

"I thought so." Khan smiled and turned, walking out the door. AS soon as Khan left, Pavel took his pants from his body and dug in the pockets. He knew that he might somehow have a weapon. Hopefully he hadn't lost it.

As he dug through his pockets, he could feel the ring he had taken from the weapon's store. He hurried and brought it out, eyeing it carefully. People may have mistaken him for innocent and possibly quite dimwitted, but he knew what he was doing. He knew that taking the ring he had seen in the weapons shop had to be something. His father had once told him of a ring that shot bullets and when he saw that thing sitting in the shop, he took it. He quickly slid it on his finger and examined it. He was easily able to see the trigger and entry point. Pavel was so proud of himself that he became giddy. Maybe he could save himself and Bones.

Bones saw Scotty at the bar and instantly hurried over to him, pushing people out of the way. "Scotty!" He called out. The bartender raised his head, expecting Jim, but his eyes widened when he saw Bones.

"McCoy!" He responded happily as Bones reached the counter. "What are you doing here? I thought you were exiled?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was…I still am. But I heard that Khan was here and he was…abusing Pavel. Is that true?" Bones hurried with a flurry of words coming out of his mouth.

"Aye, Khan's been here. We've seen him wandering around. Strange thing is that Pavel went missing a day ago. No one's seen him." Scotty mourned. "We're worried that he might have gone after you."

"No…I was told that Khan had him hostage." Bones shook his head, confused.

"Eh, no one really knows." Scotty shook his head. "You shouldn't be here, Khan…or Pike is gonna find you and end you."

"I can handle myself." Bones sighed and looked around. "It was nice seeing you Scotty."

"You too. Be safe. I want to see ya again around here." Scotty told him.

"Me too." Bones nodded and left the Saloon, heading out into the town square. It was empty and desolate. Not a single soul was there. It was like the plague had taken over and wiped out everyone that had been wandering around. A tumbleweed ironically rolled across the dirt floor and Bones just looked at it, not sure how to react.

"I see you've heard the news?" Bones heard Khan's voice sneaking out from somewhere.

"Khan, what the hell are you doing to Pavel?" Bones growled, looking around the town center. The water tower and been destroyed and left in a pile of wood.

"I've been giving him a certain treatment." Khan responded, stepping out from behind a building, a few feet away from Bones. The man looked refreshed and quite calm.

"What kind of treatment?" Bones asked, his hand on his gun.

"Special treatment. He's been a warrior though, going through all of it, hoping to just see you again." Khan looked down at the ground and smiled to himself. "You know…he missed you enough to call out your name while I treated him…"

Bones clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He had no words to explain what he was feeling towards Khan right now. "You keep your filthy, English hands of him." Bones growled.

"I see why you like him so much." Khan looked up at McCoy, still a sly grin on his face. "I think I'm beginning to fancy him, myself."

"Well, you can't have him. I would never let anyone touch him." Bones told Khan, pulling his gun out.

"Ah ah ah." Khan shook his finger. "I wouldn't do that."

"Why not?" Bones asked.

"Because, I have Pavel with me…or my men at this moment. I'm willing to do a trade off." Khan suggested.

"What kind of trade off hm?" Bones asked, never putting his gun down.

"I'll release Pavel, if you hand yourself in to me." Khan smirked. Bones dropped his gun to his side.

"What if I don't want to turn myself in that easily?" Bones inquired, putting his gun back up. Khan just smiled and shook his head.

"Men, bring Pavel over to me." Khan asked, ignoring Bones' comment and Bones didn't mind. He just wanted to see Pavel again. And he did, but not in the way he wanted.

Pavel was thrown out towards Khan, who grabbed him roughly by arm. Bones was shocked by his appearance. The boy was naked. Completely and utterly naked. Bruises and purple marks dotted his neck and chest. His face was bloodied and he held his one arm in an awkward position. Pavel looked up at Bones and was ashamed, looking back down.

"What did you do to him?!" Bones yelled, shaking the gun.

"I told you I gave him a special treatment." Khan rolled his eyes. "Now, I would appreciate it if you could just hand yourself over."

"No! I am not going to give in that easy. I want a challenge." Bones frantically searched for someway to save himself and Pavel. He didn't want to be taken away.

"A challenge? What kind of challenge?" Khan seemed amused at this prospect of a challenge.

Bones looked around frantically as he saw more people gathering around the two of them, most of the people only coming because of the shock of a naked boy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jim and the rest of the group.

"A shoot-out!" He exclaimed. He had done this before and had one all times. He was sure enough that he might be able to win this fight.

Khan looked at him, amused. "A shoot-out with me? Are you sure?" Khan asked, smiling.
"Yes."

"No!" A voice cried out from the crowd and Bones saw someone pushing through the thick crowd that had gathered. Bones turned and saw Jim, making his way towards Bones. "Bones, don't! Please…I beg of you." He rushed up to Bones and grabbed his shoulder. "You can't do this. He's more experienced than you. You know that." He whispered.

"I have to. I need Pavel back. And if I don't make it, you kill the bastard and take Pavel back." Bones replied harshly.

"Bones—"

"Jim…do it for me." Bones pleaded.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Fine." And the man retreated back into the crowd. Bones turned back to Khan. Khan was smiling at the exchange between the two men.

"Are we ready now?" Khan asked, pulling out his gun, with Pavel still in hand.

"Yes." Bones nodded, but he could feel his hands shaking as he aimed the gun.

"Alright, I'll countdown." Khan nodded, holding his gun while still gripping Pavel. Pavel looked at Khan and knew that he would win. His gun was larger and more accurate. Bones would lose and Pavel knew that. It was Pavel's turn now to be the hero and save Bones' life. As he reached to cock the trigger on his ring, the ring dropped to the ground and Pavel lost his breath.

"3…" Khan started, Pavel inched down, trying to grasp the ring, but it was barely beyond his reach. "2…" Pavel tugged, but Khan just gripped him harder and pulled him back. "1." Pavel panicked and tore away from Khan's grip, picking up the ring and jamming it onto his finger.

When Khan yelled 'one', Bones hurried to pull the trigger and his heart dropped as the trigger jammed. Scotty had predicted the gun would break. And now, the breaking of his Pasha would end his life.

A loud bang rang out and Bones figured that he was too numb to feel the bullet enter his body. Though, he could feel the life slipping from his heart, knowing that he would never see Pavel again. He looked up and saw Khan dropping to his knees, blood spurting from his neck as he choked on the blood bubbling up from his mouth. Next to him, Pavel looked down in shock before dropping to his own knees, collapsing out of weariness. Bones dropped his gun and ran over to Pavel, grabbing him and holding him in his arms.

"Pasha…Pasha…come on." He whispered as the weak and barely awake Pavel, clung to Bones' shirt, whimpering. "Somebody get this boy a damn towel!" Bones looked up and yelled. The crowd was in their own shock at the victors. "Can you hurry?!" He called out. Jim and the crew were instantly at his side, Scotty with a blanket. Bones took it and covered Pavel up, holding him against his chest.

"Pasha…darling. Wake up." Bones muttered. Pavel whimpered and wrapped his battered and bruised arms around Bones' neck.

"Vhy do you vant me back?" Pavel asked, nearly crying.

"Why…because I love you. Why wouldn't I?" Bones asked, laughing while tears ran down his face.

"Because Khan said zat you vouldn't touch me after ze zings he vould do to me." Pavel opened his eyes, looking up at Bones.

"No…I would be angry if you were willing, which I knew you weren't." Bones held Pavel against his chest. "I will always love you and would be willing to marry you any day."

Pavel smiled and craned his neck as far as the pain would allow him to kiss Bones on the lips. "YA lyublyu tebya." He whispered as he began to cry. The crowd that had been silently watching the exchanged, all let out an "Aww." It startled Bones and realized that he wasn't alone. His face was red and Jim looked down at the two, smiling and laughing.

"Let's get him dressed." Jim suggested. Bones nodded and lifted Pavel up from the ground, the towel still around him.

"Hold on right there." Pike's leering voice pushed through the crowd. Bones held onto Pavel and turned to come face to face with the angry Sheriff. "What are you doing back in the town?"

"I came here because you deserted your son in his time of need." Bones responded.

"Well get out. All of you." Pike responded, shooting a glare at the whole group.
"Aye! Why you kickin' us all out?!" Scotty pushed forward and asked, coming face to face with the Sheriff.

"Because you support this…this way of life!" Pike exclaimed, pointing at Bones and Pavel.

"And you should too! Didn't you see those two?" Scotty kept fighting for Bones and Pavel, which made Bones and Pavel feel…elated. "Everyone here in the town cheered for them when they kissed! What do you have against this?" He asked.

"It's wrong on too many levels! Have you read the Bible lately?" Pike snapped. Scotty rolled his eyes.

"Come on lad! Push past that and look at the true love between the two!" Scotty pushed for the two as hard as he could. "And personally, if you can't get past that, and you abuse your son, you shouldn't even be Sheriff!" He explained. From behind him, the crowd cheered in agreement. Scotty smiled and crossed his arms, nodding.

"You can't get rid of me. I'm the Sheriff!" Pike exclaimed, looking behind him in horror. "You can't!"

"Well, let the town decide." Scotty suggested. After that, people cheered for Scotty and booed the Sheriff. Pike was shocked by the turnout. He shook his head in denial.

"No no no! This can't be happening! No!" Pike shook his head as people started to bombard him, pushing him towards the exit of Enterprise. The crew followed the mass of people and watched on.

"I'm glad to see that bastard gone." Jim sighed and crossed his arm.

"Who's going to be the Sheriff now though?" Bones asked, still holding Pavel, who was fast asleep in his arms.

"I don't know. I would volunteer myself, but if we still have that world travel thing going on…" Jim shrugged.

"I would hope we would still have that going." Bones told Jim. "I would really like to get out of America for once."

"Me too, now that I think about it." Jim nodded. "Well, we can handle that later. We need to get Pavel back home and fixed up."

"Agreed." Bones smiled at Jim and the seven of them turned and walked to Pavel's house. It was no longer Pike's. He was kicked out of the town and now Pavel owned everything that Pike had owned. "You're going to be alright." Bones whispered to Pavel as they walked him to his house.

Everyone gathered in the house, all sitting on the couch while Bones carried Pavel upstairs. The boy was starting to wake up and he was mumbling something. Bones creased his brow in confusion and let Pavel keep talking. Bones couldn't decipher most of it, but he could point out the words; Khan, no, stop and ouch. Just listening to him, made Bones cringe.

"Hey it's fine. Shh…" Bones coddled Pavel as he carried him into their room. It felt nice to be back in the old room. "Pasha, wake up." He mumbled as he sat Pavel down on the bed.

"Hmmm…nyet…" Pavel whispered and opened his eyes. "Leonard…hmm look at you." Pavel smiled and grinned weakly at Bones.

"Yes, I'm back and so are you. Thank you for saving my life." Bones smiled and sat down next to Pavel.

"I did?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Yes. Somehow you shot Khan and he's dead now." Bones smiled, proud at Pavel for standing up for himself.

"Ah yes! Eet vas ze ring." Pavel smiled and pulled the ring off his finger.

"The ring you took from the weapon shop?" Bones laughed and looked at the small metallic ring. "Well I'll be damned." He chuckled. "Nice job Pasha."

"Zank you. I still have ze vedding ring." Pavel blushed and stuck out his left hand, the ring still on there. The fingers were bruised and slightly swollen.

"What happened to your fingers?!" Bones asked, gently picking them up.

"Vhile Khan vas…uhh…touching me…hurting…me, he became angered vith me because I vouldn't take ze ring off." Pavel mumbled.

"No…he didn't…oh Pasha…" Bones held Pavel next to him. "You need to get dressed and take a shower." He ordered the young boy. Pavel sighed and nodded, sliding off the bed and going into his room, grabbing a new pair of clothes. He entered the room again, grinning at Bones wickedly.

"Do you mind coming vith me?" He asked.

"Pavel, no. I'm not going to right after Khan did…that…to you." Bones shook his head.

"Zen Khan vas right? You vouldn't vant to love me anymore ze same you used to…" Pavel looked like he had come to a sudden revelation.

"No! No. Not at all. I will…I will, but you've just been…abused. I can't do that to you." Bones shook his head. He had morals. "You should be afraid of doing such things."

"Yes, Khan abused me, and it hurt. I personally zink zat I vill get over eet by my true lover taking me gently…" Pavel smirked as he crawled onto the bed and leaned into Bones. Bones bit the inside of his cheek and looked away.

"Pasha, do you know what you just went through?" He asked.

"Yes, and I want to come back anyway I want to. My choice." Pavel crossed his arms. "Please?" He sprawled over Bones' lap. "Please!"

Bones sighed. "Fine…"

"Yes! Zank you!" Pavel popped up cheerily, jumping off the bed and taking Bones by the hand. He reluctantly followed the young boy, feeling guilty as ever, but it's what the kid wanted.

They ran into the bathroom and Pavel quickly shut the door, grinning like an idiot. He looked Bones straight in the eyes and locked the door, leaning in to give him a big, welcoming kiss that Bones immediately melted into. Pavel smiled and pulled away, dropping the blanket and hurried to turn on the shower. Bones shook his head and smiled to himself. Damn kid.

(Alright. I never planned for this to be such a LONG story. The next chapter should be the last. I promise!)