Hey all! I am back! I had a lot of personal stuff happening, and some of which I'm just not going to talk about- but I hope you forgive me and enjoy the chapter!
Questions would go unanswered for a time, Alex was not disciplined for sneaking into the medical bay to see Singh, but it was made known that no one was particularly thrilled with her for the time being. The only one who treated her without kid gloves, who told her exactly what they were thinking, was Mindy and Thal. Though Mindy didn't know much about the people they were towing, she did know they were towing a ship.
Alex was bored without her work, and she'd been confined to quarters, so occasionally Mindy would come to the room to see Alex, to bring her any gossip she could think of and to just spend time with her. Thal too occasionally would come, but his motives were far less entertainment value, and far more physical, Alex was getting used to fighting with Thal, it was great, and it gave her an opportunity to get out some of the aggression she was holding onto.
After a week of being confined to quarters, Alex heard a knock at the door, and assuming it was one of her friends she went to the door and opened it only to find Lt. McIvers there. She was the Lieutenant that Alex didn't know when she'd seen that Singh had woken up and she looked at Alex with interest.
"Can I help you?" Alex asked after a moment, realizing that she still hadn't spoken.
"Yes," she said finally. "I have some questions for you- about your time," she continued before stepping into the room.
Alex stepped back, letting her into the room before she realized the Bat'leth was still sitting on the couch in the sitting room where Alex had left it. She moved the Bat'leth before Lieutenant McIvers had a chance to touch it- which she looked like she was about to do. Alex brought the weapon to the bedroom and set it on the bed before she moved back to the sitting room and she crossed her arms, leaning against the doorway.
"So what can I help you with?" She asked. "You said you had questions?"
"Yes," she looked back at Alex as she sat down and tapped the screen of her PADD. "I've spoken with Mr. Singh, he said he knew you in his time," she said and Alex quirked an eyebrow as silence fell between them.
"I'm sorry, what was your question?" Alex asked as she stared at McIvers.
"What was he like?" She asked, trying to sound a little worked up.
"Uh," Alex sighed as she crossed her arms. "Well," she said thoughtfully. "Singh was young- younger than the rest of us," she said slowly. "He was smart, like, creepy smart. I guess he'd graduated high school when he was twelve and then college when he was sixteen- then was recruited to the military," she remembered slowly.
To be fair, she wasn't remembering this all on her own, Spock had been going through her memories of Singh while they meditated together, bringing up things she'd forgotten she'd forgotten. She was starting to recall many memories of him, her time in basic training was hard, and she had been so tired throughout basic training, it was amazing the things that she had forgotten.
"What else?" McIvers asked and she looked at Alex, enthralled.
"What do you want to know?" Alex asked as she looked at McIvers.
"What was he like?"
"Awkward," Alex nodded. "He was an awkward guy who was technically not supposed to be there- but his dad signed off on him being there as long as he could make it through basic training. Because he was an engineer, they wanted him bad, so they went easy on him," she sighed as she thought about that. "It made him really unpopular with the rest of the class," she remembered him getting beaten up a handful of times and sighed.
"And you were friends with him?" She pressed and Alex nodded slowly. She wouldn't have said friends- not during that time, but when time went on, they had grown closer.
"Not at first," she said honestly. "But yeah- eventually. He wasn't just my friend, he was my brother," she explained. "We went through a lot together- that can't be explained by just being friends."
"And were you ever anything more than that?" She asked, making Alex scoff slightly before shaking her head.
"No, never," she replied and McIvers looked down at her PADD, a small smirk on her lips. "Was there anything else?" She prompted as the other woman stood.
"Oh, yeah- I convinced the Captain that we should properly welcome Kahn- Mr. Singh to the ship, and our time, we're hosting a dinner for him tonight," she explained and Alex nodded slowly.
"Okay," she said.
"Mr. Singh has requested you be there too," she said a little stiffly before she turned for the door. Alex watched her leave and then let out a sigh and looked at her empty room. Apparently she was expected to get ready for a party.
When Spock came back that evening he found Alex doing push up's in their sitting room, her feet were on the couch and she grunted as she pushed up slowly, her arms shaking. "It has been decided that we should welcome Kahn Singh to our time properly," he said simply and Alex slowly lowered herself.
"I heard," she replied. "I had an interesting visit from Lieutenant McIvers,"
"What did she say?" He asked as she pushed herself up again, a bead of sweat running from her forehead to the top of her nose.
"Ah- not much," she replied. "She was asking more than she was saying," she explained.
"What did she ask?" He asked as he walked further into their sitting room.
"She asked-" she pushed herself up again, groaning as she did and then looked at Spock who stood to her right, looking down at her. "She asked about Singh, about the military, and about me," she told him. "Weird stuff- like if we had ever been more than friends,"
"What did you say?" Spock asked as she held the pose and then slowly lowered herself down again. She moved her legs off of the couch and rolled over onto her back and panted softly.
"I told her we were never more than friends," she replied before holding her hands out to Spock. He took them, and helped her up, placing a hand on her lower back to steady her, Alex smiled at the touch and put her hands on his chest, looking up at him with fondness. "You know that- you've been in my head," she reminded him gently.
"I have," he said. "But that does not mean he did not hold some sort of affection for you?"
"He did," Alex acknowledged as she moved away from Spock and picked up the towel she'd brought out to wipe up her sweat. She did just that, wiped her face off and then looked at Spock. "But it was never reciprocated,"
"Do you think he could still harbor those feelings?" He asked and Alex sighed.
"I don't know," she admitted. "To me, that time was only about ten years ago- to him, it was much longer," she explained as she looked up at Spock. "I don't know how he looks at the past, but I'm sure we'll find out tonight,"
"Tonight?" He turned and watched her as she headed towards the bathroom.
"Didn't you hear? Apparently the guest of honor has requested my presence," she told him before looking at the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower," she told Spock who nodded and then a moment later seemed to understand what she was saying.
"Your invitations need work," he commented as he walked towards the bathroom, Alex smiling as she looked up at her tall Vulcan lover.
"It got you here didn't it?" She asked as she closed the door to the bathroom.
The two shared their showers more often than not, Spock seemed to prefer it that way, and Alex definitely did. She loved feeling his hands moving over her body as he washed her, she loved doing the same for him, and despite them not actually taking long to wash each other, their showers seemed to take much longer together than apart- not that either of them minded.
Even after their extended shower they still had some time before the dinner, so the pair meditated before they'd have to start getting ready. The meditation was relaxing, and for Alex it helped sort her varied feelings about the current situation she was in.
After their meditation, Alex picked out the dress she was going to wear to dinner, one of the Vulcan dresses, with her necklace Spock had given her. She brushed out her hair and put on a little makeup- it was rare she wore makeup, so when she did, she went with a less is more look, and then slipped on her shoes while Spock held her hand. He looked handsome in his Starfleet dress uniform and she smiled softly as she ran her hands over his chest.
It was remarkable how often the two were able to settle in a comfortable silence, Vulcans were not a particularly chatty bunch, and Alex enjoyed the calmness that being with Spock afforded her. He lifted a hand and ran it over the back of hers before he touched his fingers of his other hand to her jaw lightly and leaned down, tilting her head up as he kissed her, softly, but sweetly.
Alex returned the kiss, parting her lips just slightly, but Spock took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. "My T'hyla," he said in her mind, and she shivered into his touch as he ran his fingertips down the back of her arms. "Tonight you will learn what came of your old friend,"
Alex pulled back from the kiss and looked up at Spock who stared down into her eyes, and for a moment she was tempted to just blow off the dinner, to just stay there in her shorts and one of Spock's shirts and cook dinner for the both of them. She wished she had her old music with her so she could play Selena and Toni Braxton and sing along with it while she cooked like she used to do back home in her apartment- but she didn't- and as she held onto Spock's chest, she knew they couldn't blow off dinner.
They made their way to the dining room that they had used when Spock's parents were on board, and there she found Lieutenant McIvers, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy chatting with the guest of honor. He looked away from them however when he spotted Alex and Spock enter the room, Alex's arm casually wrapped around Spock's, and he walked over to the two. Alex didn't miss the level look he gave Spock, but then he looked at her and he smiled and for a moment he was just that sixteen year old boy in basic training.
"I've been waiting for you," he said as he looked at her and she nodded.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," she replied and he grinned before glancing at Spock again.
"If I had known you were waiting on an escort- I would have come to get you myself," he told her and Alex looked at him as if she were confused before realization seemed to cross her face.
"Oh- oh no, Singh, this is Spock," she said as she placed a hand on Spock's chest with familiarity in her touch as she looked up at Spock, who remained stoic but returned her touch by placing his hand on her lower back. "My T'hyla," she introduced the phrase as she looked up at Spock and then back to Singh. "It's basically like- well- in our terms, I guess I'd say he's my boyfriend," she explained with a smile and Singh looked between them before he glanced over at the others in the room.
"Well," he clapped his hands together stiffly. Alex moved her hand from Spock's chest when Singh looked away, but Spock did not move his hand from her back. "Are we waiting on anyone else?" Singh asked.
"Just one more," Kirk replied, he had obviously witnessed the whole exchange, but he didn't comment on it, instead he walked over with a glass of wine and handed it to Alex who sipped it gratefully.
"Very well," Singh said before turning and looking at Spock. "You are the first officer, correct?" He asked and Spock gave a single nod.
"Affirmative," he replied and Singh nodded, eyes flickering over to Alex and then back to Spock.
"What happened? Not qualified to make Captain?" He asked in a tone Alex recognized as one that someone would use to later insist that it was a joke, she narrowed her eyes just slightly but Spock was the one to reply.
"I do not seek the title of Captain. Just as I do not fear it, it simply exists," he told Singh simply who looked like he didn't know how to reply to that.
"Interesting you bring up fear when I did not," Singh said as he looked at Spock and then looked at Alex.
"Be nice Singh," she told him sternly, and he smiled at her innocently.
"I was merely asking a question," he said before the door opened and Thal walked in before looking around the room.
"I apologize," he said to the others in the room.
"It's fine- perfect timing," Kirk said as he looked at Thal and then gestured to the table. Kirk took the head of the table, and Spock sat to his right, Alex sat next to Spock, and on the other end of the table sat Singh, to Alex's left. To Singh's left sat Lieutenant McIvers, then Thal, and then Dr. McCoy.
As they sat and the first course was put together Lieutenant McIvers looked at Singh with a look of admiration. "As I told you before, I'm one of the historians on the ship," she told him. "I'd love to hear some stories of your time," she told him and Singh glanced at her before looking at his fist course, the soup everyone had as their first course.
"I cannot imagine the stories our Ramirez has told you," he commented as he looked at Alex who looked over at the two and then shook her head.
"I have never met Lieutenant McIvers before we came on your ship," she told him and he looked at her for a moment before glancing at Lieutenant McIvers.
"Why that is I wonder," he said as he looked at her and she cleared her throat.
"Well, I'm an expert on the time of history that Alex lived through- I didn't think there was anything she could tell me about that I haven't studied, but the time after her time, that's a bit murkier in the history books."
"What a short sighted answer," Singh said simply, before looking at Kirk. "Tell me Captain, what can I expect to endure when we get to this Starbase 12?"
"Well," Kirk said as he thought. "Most likely doctors, medical examinations,"
"There will be those who want to talk to you about your past, your life, what brought you here," Spock added as he looked at Singh who glanced at the other man. "Military service," Spock continued and glanced at Singh who stared at him. "Why you and your people felt the need to leave earth,"
Alex looked over at Singh and he glanced at her before looking away and shifting slightly. "There are many reasons I did what I did,"
"And what did you do?" Kirk asked as he looked at Singh.
"I have done many things Captain," he said as he sat back in his chair and took a drink. "I have been an engineer, a serviceman, a pilot, I am a man of many hats, as Alex can tell you," he said as he reached over and touched her hand.
Alex looked at Singh before looking back at Spock and moved her hand from his touch. After their soup course they were served a salad course, and while they ate, Dr. McCoy and Singh discussed is remarkable recovery.
"I just haven't seen anything like it," McCoy was saying as he took a sip of his drink and then smiled as the salad drink was taken away. "Not since Alex," he said as he gestured to her and she looked up.
"Excuse me?" She asked as she looked over at Dr. McCoy.
"Well, I just mean, looking at your medical records, you are in extraordinary shape, your lungs, heart, circulatory system, it's all off the charts," he explained. "It makes sense that it only took you two weeks to wake up, even though you'd been asleep for two hundred years,"
"Doctor," the Captain tried to interrupt.
"I'm just saying, with readings twice as good as Alex's, it's no wonder that Kahn was able to wake up so much faster- now Alex, when we first took readings, we figured it was because you'd been in such a physically demanding job, and because of the apparatus keeping you healthy, but now I can't help but wonder-"
"Doctor-" Kirk said, a warning tone in his voice as Alex leaned forward to hear what the doctor had to say.
"Well, Kirk, you know, we've all wondered about it lately," he said as he took another swig from his drink.
"Wondered what, Doctor?" Alex asked, her eyes moving from the doctor to Singh who sat there, smirking at the scene before them.
"Bones!" Kirk's demanding voice took Dr. McCoy's attention and he looked at the Captain who stared at him hardly. Alex looked between the two men and then glanced at Spock who was staring at Kahn.
"I wonder," Spock said as he looked at Kahn. "How did you manage to keep all of the things you accomplished leading up to your trip out of the history books?"
"Oh that wasn't so hard," he replied almost flippantly.
"Not hard when you control what goes into the books?" Spock pressed and Kahn smiled slightly while Alex looked at the new plate in front of her. It had been placed there sometime without her noticing.
"There was little else left on earth when we left- we seek adventure, something new." Kahn said with a shrug.
"There was the war," Spock pointed out and Alex looked at him.
"The war?" She asked.
"The war to end tyranny. Some would think, someone such as yourself would consider that a noble effort," he said pointedly.
"Tyranny?" Kahn asked, as though he had no idea what Spock could be talking about. "I think you'll find, that was more an attempt to unify humanity- like we always talked about," he glanced at Alex who felt her eyebrows crease in a frown.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
"Don't you remember? Our talks after training, while we were almost too tired to talk- we'd lay under the stars and discuss how much better life would be if all humans had to go through what we went through. If they could just feel the bonds of brotherhood,"
"I was eighteen," Alex said. "And I- I don't know what anyone could think that could do,"
"It is a great bonding experience," Thal spoke up and Alex looked over at him. "Being a brother in arms, many humans and Klingons alike find that service to one's cause can bring one together with those around him."
"I didn't know what I was talking about, I was a child," Alex said as she looked at Thal. "Maybe for an adult, someone who chooses that life, but what you're talking about, that's a dictatorship," she said as she looked back at Kahn, suddenly seeing her old friend in a new way.
"I know something of those years," he said as he looked back at her. "You were asleep, I was not,"
"That's not my fault Singh," Alex said as she stared at him. "I was put in an impossible position, either sacrifice a year of my life, or do another tour of duty, you know that. You know how much I didn't want to do another tour,"
"And while you were dreaming, the dreamers of the world continued to make our dreams a reality," Kahn told her. "We aspired to a higher level of greatness, one that could not be achieved on Earth's own. The world needed a firm hand, one that could ensure the future of our species,"
"And instead all they got were dozens of petty dictatorships," Spock said and Alex looked back at him. It was like watching a tennis match, the ball would fly one way and then the other and her neck was getting tired.
"One man would have ruled eventually," Kahn said as he looked at Spock. "Think of the accomplishments that the world could have beheld," he said before looking at Alex again. "As Rome flourished under Caesar, so too could the rest of the world under-"
"Under you?" Spock interjected and Kahn shot him a dirty look.
"You are an excellent tactician, Captain," Kahn suddenly looked away from Alex and Spock, to the head of the table. "You let your second in command attack, while the one person here I actually care about's opinion of me fades," he chuckled and then looked at Alex, "Things could have been beautiful, the way we imagined. All I did- I did for you,"
"I never asked you to do that for me Singh," she said softly and he smiled as he reached out and ran his fingertips gently over her jaw.
"You didn't need to," he told her softly before looking at the rest of the table. "If you don't mind, I'm feeling a little tired. I will retire to my quarters," he said before he stood and without waiting left the room.
Alex sat there, staring at the space Kahn had been sitting in before she looked over at Kirk, and then McCoy. "What am I?" She asked and Kirk sighed before running his hands over his face.
I hope you're enjoying this storyline! Let me know what you think of my version of Kahn in the comments!