Spock hurried to the helm with Luna. Spock turned to Sulu as Luna sat down in her seat, trying to help Sulu in locating Jim. "Where is the Captain, Mr. Sulu?"

"Our sensor array's down, sir." Sulu immediately reported as Luna began to work on the helm crazily, trying to find a way around that. "I can't find him."

Luna turned around to look at Spock with intense, frightened eyes. "Khan is going to kill him, Spock."

Before Spock could say anything, a live video appeared on the screen. Jim was guided to the camera while grunting, and behind him was Khan, gripping the back of his neck, controlling all movement in his body with one hold. Luna stood up, knowing they had to do something, but what could they do? They were on a completely different ship. "I'm going to make this very simple for you." Khan growled out, obviously in a murderous rage.

"Captain." Spock called out from fear.

Khan was going to continue his threat despite Spock's interruption. "Your crew for my crew."

"You betrayed us." Luna growled out while moving in front of the helm, standing next to Spock, both holding their position of power in front of a threat.

Khan got an evil smile on his face at her bravery and wit. "You are smart, Lieutenant Commander."

"Luna, Spock don't – " Khan cut Jim off by karate chopping the back of his neck, causing him to fall to the floor with groans of pain before passing out.

Luna's face displayed the hurt she felt from Jim falling down in pain, and Khan simply smiled while returning to look back at the two. "Mr. Spock, Ms. McCoy, give me my crew."

Spock and Luna slowly turned to glance at each other with worry before looking back to the screen. He couldn't have them. None of them could be woken up, and Khan couldn't take power again. "And what will you do when you get them?"

"Continue the work we were doing before we were banished."

Luna shook her head at him, finding the man completely insane. After years of nothing but thinking, he still thought his way was the right way. "Which, as I understand it," Spock began, "involves the mass genocide of any being you find to be less than superior."

Khan was unblinking, still staring down Spock with murder in his eyes. "Shall I destroy you, Mr. Spock? Or will you give me what I want?"

There was an intense silence. They had to get Jim back. There was no other option. "We have no transporter capabilities." Luna finally told him with a shrug, not sure what he wanted them to do.

Khan's icy gaze switched to Luna, finding her to be the weaker one of the two since she so desperately wanted Jim back. "Fortunately, mine are perfectly functional. Drop your shields."

Spock and Luna turned to each other again, seeming to have a silent conversation just through eye contact before Spock broke away to face Khan again. "If I do so, I have no guarantee that you will not destroy the Enterprise."

Khan got a sick smile on his face before beginning to speak. "Well, let's play this out logically then, Mr. Spock. Firstly, I will kill your Captain to demonstrate my resolve." Everyone on the Enterprise seemed to suck in a deep breath at the fear of that as Luna found herself trembling and twitching from fear. "Then if yours holds, I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew."

Luna took a step forward, fear and anger driving her. "If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people."

"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not." He told them simply and matter-of-factly before continuing. "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 recover my people." Khan took a breath from his speech as Jim slowly began to come to, trying to lift himself into a push up position. "Now, shall we begin?"

The intense stares continued until Spock broke away to turn to Sulu. "Lower shields."

Khan got a simple smile on his face while nodding at his choice. "A wise choice, Mr. Spock." Khan began to hurry to the nearest computer, but he stopped to kick Jim in the ribs. With Jim's groan, Luna let out a loud gasp before covering her mouth, trying to keep from another display of weakness towards Khan. "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's voice held some kind of intentional sass to it which very few were used to. "The torpedoes are yours."

Khan quickly transported the pods into his own ship, and once that was done, there was a wash of relief over him, knowing that his crew was safe and with him. "Thank you, Mr. Spock."

Luna stepped forward again, still angry with Khan, and this entire situation. "All right, we scratched your back, your turn to scratch ours."

Khan had sat down in the captain's chair while Jim, Scotty, and Carol were struggling and crawling to each other. Khan looked down at them, a sick smile growing on his face again. "Well, Kirk, it seems apt to return you to your crew." The warm swirl of light began to appear around their bodies, as Khan's smile seeming eviller after every second. "After all, no ship should go down without her captain."

Everyone stiffened when an alert began to come from the helm. Spock and Luna turned around, panic over their faces, knowing this wasn't part of their plan. "He's locking phasers on us, sir!"

An explosion then went off in the lower deck, making the entire ship shake. Luna held onto Spock for support, and when she straightened herself up, she looked at Spock, really hoping he would be able to forgive her. "I have to go to Jim."

She began taking off, Spock turning around while looking at her incredulously. "Lieutenant Commander!"

She turned around while still trying to jog backwards. "Someone has to tell them what's going on!" Spock sighed, not liking it, but giving her a nod anyway. She gave him a thankful smile before turning around and running again.

Jim, Scotty, and Carol were transported into the prison cell of the ship. Jim went to Carol, trying to see if she was okay as Scotty moved to the guard who was watching the cell. Once he got to the glass, he banged on it, alerting the guard who was just worrying about the explosion. "Let us out of here now!" Another explosion rocked the ship, sending them all flying onto their backs.

More explosions rocked the ship, everyone trying to hold onto something to keep up right. On the bridge, Sulu was still monitoring. "Shields at 6%!"

"The torpedoes!" Spock yelled, hoping they'd be able to stop this soon. "How much time, Lieutenant?"

"Twelve seconds, sir!"

Spock opened up a shipwide channel, knowing they needed to be prepared even if they didn't know the plan. "Crew of the Enterprise, prepare for imminent proximity detonation."

Scotty and Jim were walking through the halls, both supporting Carol while she limped between them. Scotty heard Spock's voice making his eyebrows knit together. "What's he talking about? What detonation?"

"The torpedoes." Jim whispered in private realization. He began to grow a small smile on his face, realizing how smart Spock could be. "He armed the damn torpedoes!" In twelve short seconds, every single torpedo in Khan's ship went off, sending Khan on the floor of the bridge while screaming in agony at his friends' lives leaving him.

Sulu sat on the bridge, with a proud smile on his face as they watched the ship being attacked from within. "Sir, their weapons have been knocked out." He turned around to look at Spock, keeping that proud smile while giving him a nod. "Not bad, Commander."

Spock gave him a proud smile right back. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

Just as Luna turned down the hallway to get to the medical bay, Jim, Scotty, and Carol turned the corner on the opposite end of the hallway. They each stopped, Luna's eyes almost welling with tears at seeing them all okay. "Jim!" She called as she began to run to him.

"Luna!" They met each other in a tight embrace, Jim slightly lifting her off the ground while doing so.

When they pulled apart, they both had tears on their cheeks. Luna was smiling from ear to ear through the tears. "You came back." She whispered out.

Jim touched his forehead to hers while Luna's fingers intertwined with his. "You knew I would." Luna was the one to push her chin forward, letting her lips fall on his. Jim wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer as Luna held onto his back for support. For the first time in a long time, when it came to their relationship, there were no problems. Just simple bliss and appreciation for the other's life.

Scotty was behind them, still supporting Carol, finally making it to the two. "I hate to break up this cheerful reunion," the two broke apart, their hands still interlocked as they turned to look at the them, "but we need some medical attention for this lass."

Luna's jaw dropped when she saw Carol's leg. "Oh my god!" Luna immediately went to Carol's other arm, giving her some support. Luna then turned to Jim, nodding her head toward the medical bay. "Call my dad!"

Jim ran forward, calling out for Bones, the doors opened, and Jim rushed in just as Luna, Scotty, and Carol made it. "Bones!" Jim called out one more time, him making it just in time.

The second Bones saw Carol, he scooped her up in his arms and took her to one of the tables as quick as possible. He looked her over quickly, fear all through his eyes. "Are you alright?"

Carol paused for a moment. She had just seen her father brutally murdered in front of her. Her leg had been snapped like it was nothing. She felt like she had been through war and back. She was not okay. When she met his eyes again though, part of her felt slightly better. She gave him a deep, appreciative smile before nodding. "I'll be fine."

They both smiled at each other while Luna, Jim, and Scotty exchanged glances of interest. Bones then looked up, almost forgetting they were also there. He gave Jim a nod while one of the nurses began working on Carol. "Good to see you, Jim."

Jim moved closer to Bones while looking back and forth from him to Luna. "You helped Spock detonate those torpedoes?"

"Damn right I did." Bones was more distracted at the nurse wheeling away Carol as the four of them began to circle up as they talked, Luna standing close to Scotty, wanting to give him a big hug, but not wanting to take away from this important conversation in the moment.

"He killed Khan's crew!" Jim yelled incredulously as Scotty was paying very close attention, just trying to keep up.

"Spock's cold," Luna began, finding it hard to believe Jim thought they would all be okay with killing seventy-two people, "but he's not that cold."

"I've got Khan's crew." Bones gestured to the storage of all the people which was taking up a good part of the med bay. "Seventy-two human popsicles safe and sound in their cryo tubes."

Jim's mouth was agape, surprised that it actually worked, and for once, they were able to pull one over on Khan. "Son of a bitch!"

The lights then shut out, making everyone wonder what was wrong with the ship now as it seemed to screech to a halt. On the bridge, Spock's brain began running through the possible issues this could be a symptom of. "Sir, the central power grid is failing!"

Spock turned to the lieutenant, knowing they had to get back to earth somehow, and Khan probably wouldn't be far behind them for his revenge. "Switch to auxiliary power."

"Auxiliary power failing, sir."

Everything seemed to come crashing down just as it was being brought together. "Commander," Sulu spoke as the ship began turning on its side, "our ship's caught in Earth's gravity!"

Spock was gripping tightly to the arm rests while taking deep breaths. "Can we stop?"

"I can't do anything!" Sulu yelled out from panic.

Another explosion went off on the ship, leaving Chekov panicking in the engineering deck. Everyone had to get out of there now before any more people were going to be killed. "Clear the area! Engage emergency lockdown!"

In the med bay, all of the doctors and nurses were rushing to keep everything from falling with the ship. Bones moved to Carol, strapping her down to her bed. As he was doing this, he was checking every part of her face, trying to make sure she was still okay. "I hope you don't get seasick."

Carol made a painful face from the slight discomfort this direction was causing to her leg. "Do you?"

Bones looked to her with a worried face. "Yeah." Carol didn't know whether to laugh or be scared he was going to be sick all over her.

Jim, Luna, and Scotty were trying to hold on to the walls to keep upright. "What the hell is going on?" Jim yelled through the chaos.

Scotty was feeling overwheled, not knowing what to do for a moment. "I'd have to go down there and look. It could be anything from the amount of damage she's suffered."

"I'll go with you." Jim spoke while trying to stand up straight before falling into the wall again.

"No." Luna told him matter-of-factly.

That took Jim aback. He was the captain, he was supposed to be giving her orders. "Excuse me?"

Luna let out a soft chuckle while looking at her boyfriend. "Look, you're cute and all, but you don't know a damn thing about engineering. You'll be more dead weight than anything."

Jim scoffed at her. "Jeez, thanks."

"You know what I mean." Luna countered with a sweet smile. She shook her head before nodding to the door. "You're a captain. You need to be with your crew. There are standby pilots who can take my job and have probably already done just that. I can be of use down there." Jim was giving her an unsure look. He had a bad feeling about letting her go, but she was making a good point. "Let me help save this ship."

Jim was just looking in her eyes, knowing this is what she wanted to do more than anything. Save her friends and family. Jim groaned out before pulling her in for a hard kiss. When he pulled away, he held her elbows, making sure she looked him directly in the eye when he said this. "Be careful and come back in one piece."

Luna simply smiled at him while shaking her head. "I always do."

He gave her one last smile before the team broke, both of them going out of the med bay door, Jim right, and Luna and Scotty left.

Spock turned to the person on his right, trying to keep it together as best as he could. "Lieutenant, sound evacuation, all decks." The lieutenant quickly complied as Spock turned out to everyone else on the bridge, knowing he had to address them. "As acting Captain, I order you to abandon this ship. I will remain behind and divert all power to life support and evacuation shuttle bays." Everyone turned to look at him, all unmoving from their spots. "I order you to abandon the ship!" Spock repeated, perplexed at why they all continued to sit there.

"All due respect, Commander," Sulu started, knowing someone had to tell him, "but we're not going anywhere."

The elevators to the bridge opened up just in time for Jim to hear that. "That sounds like the crew I know and love." When he came in, everyone had huge smiles on their faces, happy that their captain was back and unharmed.

As Luna and Scotty ran through the halls, they were holding onto the walls to keep from falling which seemed to be a theme on this ship lately. "One day I've been off this ship!" Scotty screamed. He wasn't sure if he was yelling at Luna or just the situation in general, but he was beyond stressed. "One bloody day!"

The ship then launched forward just as the two got to the end of the hall. The two had to grab onto the corner of the wall while their feet dangled into the hallway below them.

Spock was seat belted in the middle seat, taking over for Luna, but he didn't give her enough credit for this job. So much information was running across the screen monitoring everything on the ship. He could barely keep up. "Gravity systems are failing."

Jim was also seat belted into the captain's chair, knowing that pretty much all he could do was wait for Luna and Scotty to fix this situation. "Hold on! Hold on!" Jim warned everyone as the ship began to roll onto its side.

As the ship rolled, Luna and Scotty lost their grips, falling forward before catching onto rails near the engineering deck. A woman screamed as she flew past them. They both reached their hands out to catch her, but they were too late. She continued to fall past them as they both watched on in horror.

Luna returned both hands back to the railing, afraid that the same was going to happen to her. She had just watched her fellow crew member die right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do to save her. If that were to happen to her, there would be a very slim chance that Scotty would be able to catch her. She stared at the red paint of the railing she was gripping, taking deep breaths, feeling the start of an anxiety attack. Her palms were beginning to get sweaty, stressing her out even more that this was going to cause her to fall. She would rather be in this situation over Jim any day.

"There won't be time for evacuation if we don't get power to stabilize the damn ship!" Scotty's voice brought Luna out of her panic attack. She knew if she kept focusing on the task at hand, and didn't think too much about the danger, she would be able to do this with lesser chance of a panic attack.

She quickly turned to Scotty before asking, "Can we restore it?"

"Only from engineering."

As the ship began to steady itself for a moment, they began to pick themselves up, knowing they had limited time before this happened again. "We have to get to the warp core." Luna told him as soon as she stood up and began running.

Scotty made the mistake of looking up, though. "Luna?" She stopped what she was doing, confused. She hurried back to Scotty, looking up as well. Debris was threatening to land right on the bridge as other crewmen were hanging on to railings for their dear lives.

Luna wanted to help every single one of them, but there was just no time. Some of them were going to die, that was obvious, but all of them were going to die if they didn't hurry. "Scotty, we got to get the power back on!" Scotty turned to look at her with wide eyes as she held out her hand to him. This was so much bigger than anything they had ever faced. "Scotty," she spoke while trying to keep her cool, "we have to go." Scotty reluctantly nodded before taking her hand and running with her.

The two continued to run as the ship continued to turn. They were actually getting good at running along the halls when they had finally made it to engineering. They hurried through the stairs, but the ship began shifting again. The two began to fall onto the rails, holding on as best as they could. That's when debris fell on the rails, knocking them both off. Luna screamed, but managed to hold on as tight as she could.

"Luna!" When she turned to look at Scotty, she saw that he was barely holding on.

"Hold on!" She screamed to him, knowing that after going through all of this, she was not going to lose Scotty.

"I can't!" He cried out.

Once his hand slipped, Luna lunged forward, grabbing his hand while adjusting her grip on the railing. Her breath quickened from fear as she began to lose her grip. She let out a terrified cry as she was holding on by just three fingers. Scotty closed his eyes, knowing they were both about to die. "Scotty," she called out, "you're my best friend!"

"You're mine!" Scotty yelled back. They both smiled to each other for a moment, and that's when she finally slipped, they both screamed, but then a hand caught Luna's.

When they both looked up, they began to laugh from relief. "I've got you, Lieutenant Commander!"

"Chekov." Luna laughed out, finding herself wanting to cry happy tears.

"Don't let go!" Scotty screamed. Luna wasn't sure if it was from his fears or a threat to Chekov for a moment.

As Chekov pulled, the ship began to rotate in his favor, making it easier for all of them to get on the deck. Once they were back on stable ground, they continued their run to the warp core, Chekov now following for assistance. "Even if we get the warp core online, we've still got to redirect the power!"

Luna turned back to look at Scotty before she slowed down, Chekov and Scotty doing the same. "He's right, Lieutenant Commander!"

Luna looked back and forth at the two with her hands on her hips, trying to catch her breath. Yes, she knew a lot about engineering, but this concept was making her draw a blank. "What are you talking about?"

"Someone has to hit the manual override." Scotty quickly explained before turning back to Chekov. "Laddie, there's a switch – "

"Behind the deflector dish!" Chekov jumped in, excited at the fact he knew what he was talking about. "I'll flip the switch!"

"Let's go!" Luna called before beginning to run again.

Scotty and Luna stayed on the lower levels while Chekov dashed up the stairs. Chekov was able to make it, and flip the switch just in time for Scotty and Luna to arrive right outside the warp core containment. Scotty ran to the nearest computer, but it immediately had a message for him, "Core misaligned. Danger."

Scotty's face went white, trying to press any button he could to get it to work, but nothing was happening. "Oh, no, no, no, no!"

"What?" Luna asked quickly.

"The housings are misaligned! There's no way we can redirect the power!" Luna felt the blood rush out of her face before he even finished. There was no way this could happen. "The ship's dead. She's gone."

She thought back on what Spock Prime had told the entire crew. What happened to him and the crew while he faced Khan. Spock was the one to die, but this was a completely different time line. Anything could happen here. And she was not going to let any of her family die. "I write my own destiny." She whispered before turning to look at Scotty, her eyes wide. He began to get a fearful look from her face. He knew that look. "No, she's not." She nearly whispered it before taking off further into the deck.

Scotty panicked for a moment before chasing after her. "Wait, Luna!" His voice was becoming frantic. This was the craziest idea she's ever had. "If we go in there, we'll die! Do you hear me?" Luna just kept running, though. She had a chance to save the people she cared about, and she was not going to pass it up. "The radiation will kill us! Will you listen to me?!" When Scotty finally caught up to Luna, she was already putting her code into the warp core containment chamber. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm opening the door. I'm going in."

"That door is there to stop us from getting irradiated!" Scotty was now screaming at her. He would rather they all die than them living without Luna. "We'd be dead before we made the climb!"

Luna let those words sink in. Scotty couldn't go with her. She couldn't let the crew perish when there was something she could have done. Her dad was on this ship, and he needed to explore this relationship blossoming with Carol. He needed a healthy relationship for the first time in a long time. Jim was on this ship. She needed him to live. With or without her. She had to do this, and she had to do this alone. "You're not making the climb." When Luna turned around, he opened his mouth like he was going to say something. "I'm sorry!" That's when she gave a right hook into his nose.

She stared at Scotty's limp body, knowing he was still breathing, and dragging him into the nearby seat. Before she left, she strapped his seatbelt on, and stared at her best friend. He was going to hate her for this when he woke up. She leaned forward giving him a kiss on his forehead, hoping he knows how much she loves him. She then turned around, and continued sprinting to the containment booth.

She quickly opened the door, and shut it, hoping the chemicals wouldn't be able to reach Scotty. She quickly crawled through the rest of it, and then she was looking the warp core directly in the face. The heat coming off of it was intense, and the smell was ghastly.

She began her approach, climbing through the thick wires and coils, sometimes finding herself almost slipping from the sweatiness of his hands. The baby hairs that hadn't made it into her ponytail were sticking to her forehead, and the smell was getting her sick to her stomach. Her eyes were feeling heavy. She just wanted to sleep. Luna on the other hand, knew that sleep she was craving was death. She couldn't die. Not until she fixed this ship.

That gave her some more momentum and drive as she had finally made it to the top of the warp core. The bottom claw was off from the top claw. If she pushed the bottom claw a little bit, the warp core would work again. She stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out the best strategy to align them. If she got too close to it, the heat would burn her. She had to kick it into place. She looked up, finding one of the coils placed perfectly in her reach. She jumped, holding onto the coil as her body dangled.

She swung back, getting the perfect momentum to kick the bottom piece into place. It moved, but just slightly. With a big breath, she repeated the motion. Again, it still wasn't enough. The next time she repeated the motion, there were slight sparks on the bottom of it. She let out a happy huff, before swinging back to get her momentum again, throwing a big groan into it, hoping that would help. It was working. She smiled again. The next time she kicked she screamed. Still, she needed to put more power into her kicks. "Come on!" She yelled as she crashed into it again. "You've gotta work!" Kick. "I did not," Kick. "Risk," Kick. "My life," Kick. "For you," Kick. "Not to work!" Kick. She revved up for the next kick, gathering up all of her breath and strength before sending all of her weight into it. "SO WORK!"

The two claws finally connected, as a blast threw her into a coil that then caused her to fall onto the floor. Her head hit hard, and when she opened her eyes from the fall, her vision was slightly blurry. She took deep breaths for a moment before sitting up. A large cough racked her body leading to intense, lung collapsing wheezes. With a ragged breath she slowly began to crawl back through the tunnel as everything in her body felt like it was burning. When she made it into the decontamination booth, she let out a harsh shiver before collapsing in front of the window, having no choice but to watch the condensation of her breath as her body stung with pain.

Sulu's eyes grew wide on the ship. He had to blink a couple of times to make sure he was reading this alert right. "Warp core is back online!"

Jim was also a little shocked. He believed in Luna and Scotty, but he didn't know they could work that quick. "Maximum thrusters, Mr. Sulu!"

"Thrusters at maximum!" Sulu reported. They were still falling though, finding themselves close to the clouds. "Stand by! Stand by!"

Jim began to grip his arm rests even harder at the fact that they were still falling. "Everyone grab onto something!" Everyone quickly did as he said, grabbing onto something, anything they could find.

The Enterprise seemed to levitate for a moment, becoming stable, before shooting off into the clouds. Everyone let out smiles of relief before beginning to report again.

"Shields restored!"

"Captain, power online."

Spock turned to Jim with a slight smile on his face. "Altitude stabilizing."

"It's a miracle."

Jim looked to the woman who was sitting off where Chekov usually sat. Right next to her was Spock, taking over middle seat. "There are no such things." As Jim looked to Spock, all he could think about was Luna. The ship was suddenly working again. That couldn't have happened on its own. Something just didn't feel right. Jim thought this feeling would go away once the ship was stable, but he was wrong. It was still there, stabbing at his brain.

"Engineering to bridge," Jim looked down at the intercom in the captain's chair as his stomach dropped all the way down to his feet. Whatever Scotty was about to tell him, was this why he was feeling sick to his stomach?

"Mr. Scott?"

"Captain," He sounded…upset. "Commander," Spock looked over at Jim, the two sharing a worried glance. He had to know, like Jim, something just wasn't right. "You'd better get down here. Quick."

Jim pushed himself off of his chair and hurried to the elevator, he almost ran into Uhura and almost shut the doors on Spock. Something was wrong. He could feel it. His heart was pounding and there was no regulating it until he saw Luna safe and sound with that proud smile on her face letting him know she single handedly fixed the entire ship. "Spock," Jim began as he turned to look at him, his eyes holding so much fear. Spock turned in his direction, never hearing his voice that nervous before. "I know you run on logic, but please just tell me she's going to be okay."

Spock gulped. Every bit of him was saying the opposite, but he had to say something to Jim. Something that would make him feel better. Jim was his friend, and so was Luna. "By statistics, when something goes wrong, both Lieutenant Commander McCoy's are always fine. So, statistically, I can only predict Miss. McCoy will be fine."

Jim gave him a little smile. Sure, that wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but he knew it was the best he was going to get out of Spock. The doors to the elevator opened, and the two ran out. When they finally made it into the engineering deck, Jim looked around, expecting to find Bones, but he wasn't there. He didn't know if he should take that as a good or bad thing. If Luna was hurt, he would have called Bones, he would only call Jim if… Come to think of it, he couldn't spot Luna anywhere.

Jim looked right into Scotty's eyes, but Scotty wouldn't even look at him, he kept avoiding eye contact. He just couldn't look Jim in the eye, not while knowing what he knew. Eventually, he shook his head before turning it to the left. Jim gave a quick look to Scotty before looking to where he was looking. It was the decontamination booth. The warp core. Oh no. Jim let out a scared gasp before running in that direction.

She was lying on the floor of the booth, taking in slow, deep breaths with her eyes shut. Jim's mouth was dropped in horror as Spock slowly followed him. He was sure his prediction had faltered at this point. Jim turned to look at Scotty, his brow scrunched in worry. "Open it!"

Scotty seemed to have tears in his eyes as well. He let out a big sniff before beginning to talk. "The decontamination process is not complete, you'd flood the whole compartment." Jim's face just continued to twist into fear and worry as he talked before looking back to Luna. "The door's locked, sir."

Jim gasped again, feeling so helpless. He couldn't help her. He promised her, he promised her father, he would always be there to protect her, but he just put her in danger. He just had to go after Khan. He had to get his revenge. None of that was worth it now. She weakly picked up her arm to shut the door between the warp core and the decontamination booth. Her uniform clung to her body as well as her baby strands of hair from all the sweat. She just continued to look weaker by every second her life was dwindling.

Jim turned to look at Spock, speechless for a moment. He knew he was captain and he had to give some sort of command, but he was at loss for words. He thought about Bones again. He had to be here. He had to say goodbye to her. "Get Bones." How would Bones be able to get through this, though? "Tell him he needs to get down here now." Spock nodded. He wanted to stay here and be with her and Jim. His friends. But he knew Bones needed to be here more. He took off in the other direction, but Jim was scared he wasn't moving fast enough. "Go!"

He turned back to Luna, her big, brown eyes open again as he slowly moved down to sit next to her. She opened her mouth, words failing for a moment, hurting Jim more than anything, making him take a deep gulp. She mimicked his movement before finally speaking. "How's the ship?"

"Out of danger." Her eyes were heavy, but he had to tell her what he always saw in her. A hero. He offered her a weak smile at the notion. "You saved the crew."

She gave him a small smile right back, making his smile just a little wider. "You knew I would."

Jim let out a teary laugh, making Luna's smile get just a bit bigger. He would have done anything to keep that smile on her face. He had to do anything to keep that smile on her face. "Baby," He began, the first tear falling with a sniffle following. "Do you remember when I told you I had only been in love once?"

Her smile got only a centimeter wider at the thought of how warm and peaceful they both were that early morning. "I remember." Jim put his hand up to the glass. He would give anything just to touch her one last time. "I remember everything about that morning."

Her breaths were labored now, and a piece of her bangs were falling into her eyes. He wanted to push it back, and touch her face, letting her know it would all be okay. "Well, I was talking about you."

She laughed, that one little task obviously taking all of her strength. "I figured." Jim had to look down and wipe his tears away. She didn't deserve this. He wished he would have just went with Scotty. Sure, the roles would have been reversed and Luna would be feeling his pain, but she would be alive. It should have been him. He kept telling himself that over and over again. It should have been him. "Who the hell else would willingly put up with you like that?"

Jim laughed that time as he looked back up at her, but then all the pain behind her eyes showed up again. "I love you." He whispered. "Luna, I love you so much."

She slowly blinked again. She looked so tired, but she had to stay awake. She had to for Bones. "I love you." She inhaled and looked to him with tear filled eyes. Her face was getting red and her breath was getting even more ragged. "I'm scared, Jim." Jim let his head fall against the glass, his eyes shut tight. He gasped as the tears racked his body. "Help me not be." Jim opened his eyes before picking his head back up and meeting her brown eyes again. She was still gasping and weak. "Tell me something good."

Jim looked back to her, hoping he would be able to distract her long enough with the story of them. How they came to be and how amazing they had become. How in love they were. "Two people," he began. He was having a lot of trouble not breaking down into tears, but he was going to get through this for Luna. "Who weren't so different fell so in love. One was a pompous jackass." Luna laughed a little bit again and Jim smiled back to her. "And the other was this amazingly selfless girl. And that pompous jackass didn't know how to love…until he met her." He looked down from the tears as Luna felt a few tears roll down her cheek as well. "She taught him how to love, and from there on, he was never the same again."

Her eyes drifted from Jim's to nothing, almost in thought of what their life could have been like if hers wasn't cut short. "What happened to them?"

Jim looked back up at her. She looked so beautiful. Even now. "They grew old." Her eyes went back to his, the clashing of the light blue and dark brown seeming to be magic. "They had a few kids despite their setback so long ago, but they still thought about that baby all the time and who it would have been. What it would have been." Luna looked down in thought, a little smile on her face. Maybe she would finally be able to meet her child. "And her dad came to visit every week."

That's when her smile faded, and her face held panic. "My dad." She gasped. "My dad." Jim was biting the inside of his cheek as he began to cry again. "He isn't here. He doesn't know." Jim was trying to shush her, but Luna couldn't control her panic. "This is going to tear him apart." She let out another gasp, knowing before she was gone, she had to tell him something. "Tell-tell him that I love him."

"I will." He promised as he rubbed his face in thought. How could he deliver the worst news Bones would ever hear? Jim moved even closer to the glass then, if that was even possible. He could almost feel her diminishing warmth. "You don't need to worry about any of that. I'm going to take care of everything."

That's when Jim put his hand to the glass. She looked to it, and slowly, weakly put her hand up to his. They stayed like that for a moment, both of them crying at their drunken prophecy, from what seemed like years ago, was finally coming true. They weren't really sure what was tearing them up the most. The loss of her life? Their love? Or the fact that in her last moments, they couldn't touch or be together?

Her eyes slowly moved from their hands back to Jim's face, his breath quickening as hers became more ragged, making his heart tightened. "Jim." She gasped out, her voice so husky.

"I'm here." Jim assured, stroking the glass with his thumb, wishing it was her dark, silky hair. "I'm right here."

She let out another gasp, struggling to form words. "Jim." That word was even more ragged than the last. She let out a breath, her last breath, as her eyes rolled to the right and her hand fell off the glass, landing in her lap as her entire body went stiff.

Then, the doors opened, and her body fell into his waiting arms, her eyes still wide and unchanging. "Luna." Jim whispered in agony as Scotty had to put a hand over his mouth and shut his eyes, the tears falling down his face rapidly. He kept thinking of different ways he could have changed the outcome, but this was Luna. She wasn't going to let him take her place for one second because that's what best friends were for. And as he looked at his now dead best friend, he was finding it harder to even breath.

Jim began to rock her as he pulled her face close to his, his own tears falling on her cheeks while brushing her hair back.

"Luna!"

Jim looked up at the sound of Bones' voice. He couldn't see her like this. It would break him. When he looked back to Luna, though, he knew that this was the only way he would ever be able to see Luna ever again.

"Luna!" He called again. Bones' throat was burning like hell as he ran all the way from the medical bay to the engineering deck. Spock didn't give him much information. Just that something was wrong. Something was wrong with Luna. He grabbed the first medical supply kit he could find and ran with Spock trailing behind him, Bones not really caring if he was behind him or not.

When he saw Jim cradling Luna's body, he grew stiff and stopped running instantly. "Luna." He whispered it, hoping for some response. Her body was as stiff as his and she was pale with her eyes wide open. He studied her chest for a moment, and when he didn't see a rise or fall, he fell to his knees.

Jim looked up at him and then back to her. Bones didn't know what to do. He was still in shock, working his way into denial. Not her. Not his baby. Anyone but his one and only child. Jim was looking back down at Luna, never wanting to let her go, but this was her father and his best friend. Bones needed to say goodbye too.

Jim cradled her neck as he brought her to him. Bones leaned forward, grabbing her by her legs first, remembering back to the day she was born. He remembered the first time he had ever held her. She seemed so fragile back then, and as he was taking her now, he felt how fragile her body was once more. Jim still didn't want to let her go when he finally got to her head, making sure Bones had a good grip on her before closing those gorgeous eyes forever. That's when Jim let his head fall on her waist, the tears falling before grabbing her hand tight in his.

Once Bones completely had her, and he looked down at his vibrant daughter's now lifeless body, he lost it. How would they be able to make it through this? She had been the lifeblood of their trio, and she had meant everything to them both. They didn't think they would ever be able to leave her, and every time they looked back to her still chest, it was like a new wound was being carved into them all over again.

Bones adjusted his grip on her causing Jim to look up at him with blurry vision from the tears. Bones had put his forehead to hers, crying harder than anyone had seen before. This wasn't how this was supposed to work. She was supposed to bury him, and she was going to have to deal with that. She would grieve for months, maybe a year, but she would move on. "My baby girl." Bones cried out into her hair as his grip on her got even tighter. He was never supposed to bury her. How could a parent do that? No one was supposed to know that agony, but here he was holding his now dead daughter, and he wished he was dead. That would have hurt him less.

Jim continued to watch as Bones cradled her face to his cheek. She didn't deserve this. Not to die like this. She was supposed to live a long and happy life, but that arrogant, bastard cut it short. He began to feel all of that pain mold into something different. He was shaking. Not from the tears, but from…rage. It was like all the anger he was possessing was too much, it had to come out, and it chose to come out in trembles. The rage began to turn murderous, only red was in his vision. His breath was quick, and he knew in that moment, his life was going to be ruled by one thing now. Revenge. "KHAN!"

LMarie99: AH I'm so happy you liked it! Here's more for you! PS: sorry if this chapter is sad af, I just had to do it

Love. Fiction. 2018: I love you so much!

MisfitCarter: Thanks for the kind words about the play. AND I'M SOBBING RN

Okay, I usually like to stick to cannon, but I wanted to write a sad Bones. We always get sad Jim, but never an actually sad Bones (since he was barely in Into Darkness). This chapter also ended up being super long because I wanted to fight everything in here so sorry for that. I hope you all liked this chapter, and I'm sorry if you're sad now. Remember to review!