A/N: Again, I am so unbelievably sorry for the months-long wait. But with summer in full-swing and Star Trek 3 officially titled Star Trek Beyond (and, much to the dismay and amusement of those close to me, I already found an online countdown for its release date – 361 days and 33 minutes away as of typing this), I finally found inspiration again, and hopefully it's here to stay until I get this thing finished.

Dead silence swamped the room. Jim couldn't help but smirk internally as the response finally caught Khan off-guard; the genetically enhanced man twitched in shock, his icy eyes melting for the briefest of moments. Jim wanted to shift under the pressure of incredulous gazes from some of the security guards, nurses, and patients, but he forced himself to remain statue-still and hold Khan's gaze. (Bones took care of them with his own warning glare, something no one dared cross once it was turned on them – no one except Jim or Spock, that is, and they normally ended up regretting it later.)

"Well?" Jim prompted stonily.

Khan's eyes refroze as he calculated his options. "If I get to choose who to awaken," he finally agreed.

Jim pretended to think about it, though he didn't really have a choice – better wake up someone Khan wanted than a total wildcard that could end up backfiring on both the Enterprise crew and Khan. Odds were, if Khan cared enough to revive them, they'd be less likely to risk harming Khan, a desire that could be exploited, hopefully, to the benefit of Jim and his crew. "All right."

Wordlessly, Bones handed over a PADD. Jim brought up the torpedo roster, asking "You know who's in which torpedo, right?"

"Yes. I put them in there," Khan reminded him.

"Right," Jim muttered, showing him the roster. Khan scrolled through before tapping on one. Jim looked at the highlighted tail number and leaned over to comm. Engineering. "Kirk to Chekov."

"Yes, Keptin?"

Khan blinked at the sound of the Russian's young voice.

"Bring torpedo MC-9327 to the medbay."

Blessedly, Chekov didn't question the order, but he certainly sounded confused as he replied, "Yes sir."

"Why?"

Jim glanced at Khan. Guarded curiosity flickered in the depths of his gaze. Bones stepped up behind Jim, his rigid stance screaming that he wanted to get Jim away from the challenging tone. Almost unconsciously, Jim's chin lifted a bit at the comfort the silent protection brought. A moment ago he hadn't known why, but now he did.

"Everyone acts differently around their family."

Khan's eyes narrowed. "Leverage."

"No," Jim denied sharply. More calmly, he added, "You and I both know using them as leverage is simpler when they're unconscious in torpedoes."

"True," Khan agreed, stretching out the word as if using the extra time to think.

Before the conversation could continue further, the torpedo arrived, escorted by Chekov and five other engineers. Jim waved Chekov over, part of him beating himself up for letting Marcus beam Carol away. "Khan will talk you through it. Chekov, you open the torpedo, and Bones can open the cryotube."

Jim leaned back against the wall to wait. Two of the engineers who had brought the torpedo provided assistance as Khan, his hands still cuffed, began instructing Carol on how to open it. Jim hated having to trust that he wouldn't try to blow them up, but he believed Khan was as willing to kill a member of his crew as Jim was.

Bones settled beside him. "Why did you agree to wake one up?"

"Like I said: Everyone acts different. Shouldn't you be watching?" Jim muttered.

"I am, from a safe distance. I'm not keen on almost breaking my arm again. Now answer my question with the whole reason, cause that was pretty vague."

Jim sighed. "Before opening up the first torpedo, Pike pulled me aside to warn me to be careful, think with my head instead of my heart, blah blah blah. He told me that part of the reason Marcus agreed to reinstate me was because you two and Spock had, somehow, managed to change me from what I used to be. So maybe, just maybe, letting Khan pick someone to wake up will soften him, will…"

"…make him less supervillain-y," Bones concluded. "Smart but risky. How do you know he just won't wake up some muscle?"

"When it comes to his crew, it's easy enough for a captain to be ruled by his heart rather than his mind."

"This is Khan-"

"You didn't see him when he was talking about how he thought Marcus had killed them. He… It was how I would have reacted if I thought you guys were dead."

"You're not a mass murderer."

Jim shook his head. "Not now, maybe. But if Pike or Spock had actually died back at Daystrom… I don't know what I would have done for revenge. Hell, they didn't die and I was still ready to shoot torpedoes at the Klingon homeworld just because their nearly-murderer was hiding there."

Leonard wanted to jump in a time machine and prevent this mess from ever happening. Jim ran a hand through his hair, the simple action screaming of massive distress; Jim didn't often show a lack of confidence, compensating with a cocky, who-the-heck-cares attitude and a blinding smile. Usually, it took alcohol or some other drug to get him to open up to even Leonard. Him showing it openly now – in the movement of his hand, the constant shifting of his eyes, a million other cues few people, if anyone, besides Leonard could detect – meant the situation was desperate and rapidly spiraling downward.

And Leonard would do anything to protect the young man standing in front of him. No 26-year-old should have to deal with a criminal as clever, as cold, as calculatingly ruthless as Khan, with the fate of a crew of four hundred resting on his shoulders – a weight Jim seemed to be crumpling under, despite every effort to carry it.

But then, Leonard realized, therein lay the problem: Jim was trying to carry it. But he was struggling to do so alone. Alone, when he had an entire crew willing, ready, and capable of helping, a crew that included his two closest friends and the first true, present father-figure he'd had. And still, the bullheaded, too-caring-for-his-own-good captain refused to ask for help.

Well, guess I'll have to do something about that.

Wanting to hug him but wary of weakening him in Khan's eyes, Leonard opted simply to grip Jim's shoulder. "But you didn't blow it up, because you, unlike Khan, won't blur the lines between right and wrong anywhere near that badly. Yes, the two of you are similar in that you care deeply for your crew, but if you look close enough, anyone can be similar to anyone, even- even me and the green-blooded hobgoblin."

Jim's eyes widened to the size of the Enterprise's saucer section. "You just compared yourself to Spock?"

Leonard nodded. "Yes. Because we're both here for you. He's your second-in-command so you don't have to lead on your own. I'm your doctor so you don't have to hold yourself together by yourself. Jim, however it was when you were a kid, it's different now. Yes, it's your job to take care of us, but it's never been your job to do that alone. Even people like Khan need family, friends, a hierarchy for support. You're not alone."

Jim's eyes searched his face. Faintly, he nodded, the stress in his body language softening a bit.

"Doctor McCoy, we are ready for you," Chekov chirped. Leonard couldn't help but smile at the youthful pride he took in having successfully opened the torpedo, despite the surrounding circumstances.

"Well, I have to go awaken another potential genetically-enhanced homicidal human being," Leonard informed Jim, keeping his tone carefully teasing so Jim wouldn't think he was questioning him.

"Yeah, go," Jim urged.

"You ok?" Leonard questioned quietly.

"As much as I can be," Jim replied honestly.

Leonard patted Jim's shoulder once more before going to open the cryotube.

A/N: I know "ASAP" could mean a day or several months at this point, but that's how fast I promise to get the next chapter up. I'm trying to refocus on Star Trek instead of Marvel, White Collar, Royal Pains, or any of my numerous other fandoms, and I don't have to worry about school again until August, so that should help. "Trying" and "should" being the key words, but, since I've managed to write and post a new chapter and am eager to continue despite it being nearly midnight, something's working.