Things are going to come to a head real fast real soon in the next few chapters, so, word of advice, keep the tissues near, and please try not to hunt me down with a knife.

Rachel :) - (probably the last time I'll smile for a while; especially after that Endgame trailer)

Chapter 46

Three days, Spock had said.

They'd be gone for three days, at most.

It was now day five.

Bones sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose against the oncoming headache. Looking around the room, he counted no more than three dozen students, sitting at various places throughout the rec room.

They had sent all the younger student's home for the week, both because of the lack of professors still on campus, and so they wouldn't freak out if things with Khan turned south. A few of the older members willingly left too, happy for the impromptu holiday allowing them to see their friends and family.

But for Bones and Jim and many other members of the room, all of their friends and family were currently MIA.

He glanced over at the blonde sitting across the room.

Chekov and Jim had started a game a chess well over two hours ago.

They both had yet to make a move.

Standing up and ignoring how everyone's gaze immediately shifted to him, he walked over and wrapped his arms around his youngest boyfriend's shoulders, smiling at how he unconsciously leant back into the warm embrace.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?"

"... When will they be back?"

He felt the others attention latch onto him, waiting for the response.

"I... I don't know, kid".

"... Shouldn't they have called by now? If there was a change of plan?"

"I suppose so, yea".

"So why haven't they?"

McCoy sighed and took a step back, before spinning Jim's chair around and crouching down to face him.

"Kid. Listen to me. Spock'll come home to us, one way or another. The fact that they haven't checked in doesn't necessarily mean anything bad has happened! No news is good news, and all that-"

*BEEP-BEEP BEEP-BEEP*

Everyone abruptly stilled, all eyes snapped to the innocent looking communicator resting on the coffee table.

Slowly standing up, Bones walked over and flipped it open.

He swallowed thickly.

"... It's Spock".

Almost immediately, everyone rushed towards him, crowding around the small table.

Squeezing between them all, Jim grabbed the doctor's phone off of him and hit the speaker button.

"Spock?!"

There was only static from the other side.

And then, a high pitched whine, a beep, and-

"'en'ord?"

Bones quickly leant forwards, "Yea, I'm here, what's happening?"

"We- att-ck -ust out -nd heavier tha- -ected"

"Spock? Spock! We can't hear you, you're breaking up".

"Attac- -oo many- -arship gon- destroy-d many dea- more -njured".

The sound of yelling cut him off.

"Starship brok- an- we ar- on foot bu- -ake some tim-"

More static.

McCoy angrily hit the communicator off the table.

The static faded once more.

"You -ave t- listen -o me. Ther- -econd attac- on th- academy we -re -et up!"

"Hey, slow down, what's this about the academy?" Sulu asked, shoving himself closer to the phone.

"-ttack! Second att-"

The Vulcan was abruptly cut off by a loud bang, and they only heard muted curses and a painfilled groan for a one entire heart stopping minute before-

"Khan -s -oming soon bu- won- -ake it you hav- to -epare!"

A gasp, the thud of something or someone hitting the ground, and then-

"Man- injur- Pike aliv- Winona -irk killed-"

The line went dead.

Everyone stared at the communicator in shock-filled silence.

Spock.

A worse-for-wear pained-sounding currently-fighting-while-talking-to-you Spock, but still, Spock.

And he had just told them that-

Jim abruptly straightened up, catching everyone's attention.

"We need to prepare".

Bones frowned, "We need to... wait, what?"

"Prepare" He said quickly, squeezing back out from between everyone into the open area in front of the fireplace, "We need to- to- to get ourselves ready for the attack. He said there's going to be another attack, here, at the academy. Spock said that their Starship was destroyed and that there's more bad guys than anticipated and that they're coming here next!"

"Jim".

"So we need to make a game plan, we need to sort out everything, who's going to do what and where and when and how and who and- oh, well, that's rather stupid cause obviously we know who, it's Khan, it's always fucking Khan and-"

"Jim".

"-we need to prepare ourselves, we need to barricade doors and windows and try to keep them out for as long as possible until Spock and the other's come back cause he said they were on their way, that it was just going to take too long cause of their Starship being ruined and I already said that, didn't I? Anyway, it doesn't matter cause-"

"JIM!"

"WHAT?!"

Bones stared at the rambling blonde in front of him with the most heart wrenching look on his face.

"Kid... Kid, he just said your mother is dead".

Jim swallowed thickly, feeling his traitorous eyes staring to fill up, and he quickly wrapped both arms around himself, shocked and scared but wanting to hold it all together- needing to hold it all together so he wouldn't break he wouldn't burn he wouldn't-

"I know. I know what he said, I was here, Bones, I heard everything you heard".

"Jim..."

And then abruptly, he realised that everyone else was staring at him as well, the small crowd of mutants with every face after the other giving him the same, sad, pitying look, and he hates that, he can't stand that, he doesn't want their pity-

"Oh, just stop staring at me like that!" He finally snapped, "Don't- Don't make this any bigger than it needs to be! We hated each other!"

Jim heard his voice crack, and both arms angrily came up to scrub at watering eyes.

"We hated each other, it doesn't even matter. I never liked that woman anyway, and she sure as hell didn't like me! We hated each other. We- We- We-"

And then suddenly, Bones is there, standing right in front of him, with that deep knowing look in his eyes and-

"Oh, darlin'".

-and then he can't stop the tears from falling.

Bones immediately pulled him forward into an almost suffocating hug, and Jim just as immediately latched onto him, clutching his jacket with strong fists as he sobbed into his shirt.

"I hated her! I hated her, Bones, I swear, I hated her!"

But the doctor only pulled him closer in response, chin resting on soft hair, hands running sootheningly up and down his back.

"I know you did, darlin', I know you did".

What the hell were they meant to do now?!