"I don't understand," Jim said, softly so as not to disturb Spock.

They were in Spock's quarters. The Vulcan was in the other corner of the room, meditating in preparation for the mind meld, which gave Jim a few minutes to indulge his curiosity.

"Why are you going along with this? You barely allowed McCoy near you before, to treat you, and now you're about to let Spock into your mind?"

Khan, for once not guarded by security, leaned back in his chair, but did not appear completely relaxed. "It will save me hours of promises, explanations, and pacts written in blood."

Jim frowned. "What?"

The Augment looked at him expectantly, then gave a brief smile. "I suppose my sense of humor takes some getting used to. In my defense, it was not a priority during my design. But to answer your question... I find myself in the unusual situation of having no purpose. I was made to fight, to conquer, and ultimately, to rule and to protect. But I have nothing to fight for, nothing and no one left to protect. It feels… unsettling." He fell silent, looking away to collect his thoughts.

Jim noticed that Spock had come out of his meditation and was listening.

"Nothing except what you are offering me, Captain," Khan went on. "You are a remarkable individual. Superior, in many ways, to other humans. You have the courage of your convictions, and the fury of righteousness. And, most importantly, the ability to transcend your own limitations. I find myself… attracted to that."

Now it was Jim's turn to look away, wondering if Khan was really saying what he thought he was saying. Also, Jim found that he did not deal with honest and matter-of-fact compliments very well. Or with being the object of overt flirtation.

But Khan was not finished. "Oh, I know you haven't really offered me anything yet, not in so many words. But don't tell me you haven't considered it."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Jim said, wanting to get some of his own back. At the same time, he was again filled with hope. Yes, I want that. I want you by my side. I want this insane protective streak of yours directed at me, and at my crew. "We need the Spock seal of approval before we can even think about where we want to go from here," he said aloud, not just for Khan's benefit.

"I know," Khan said. "That's why I agreed to this."

Spock rose from his meditative pose. "Then let us proceed." He made an elegant gesture, inviting Khan to approach him.

The Augment joined him in the meditation area, face set, shoulders tense. He's scared, Jim realized, surprised.

Spock, apparently, noticed it, too. "Please try to refrain from excessive emoting," the Vulcan said. "I will not harm your mind, but the meld can be unpleasant if you resist. Strong emotions can conceivably affect my concentration."

Khan took a deep breath. "Tell me what to expect."

It was a terse order, but Spock complied readily. "I will touch certain points on your face. You will then hear my thoughts in your mind, instructing you to enter into a trance. This will enable me to induce a sleep-like state in your brain. You will remain awake, but your mind will not be under your conscious control, similar to dreaming. You will hear, see, and feel the thoughts and memories that I access in your mind. When I have learned what I need to know, I will lead your mind back to wakefulness. We will both retain the full memory of all that occurred."

Khan nodded, visibly trying to relax tense muscles. "And who will learn from you about the things you learn from me?"

"No one. I will give Captain Kirk my recommendation regarding your future treatment based on what I learn, but the details will remain confidential."

"I see."

They sat down cross-legged, facing each other.

Jim looked from one to the other. "Do you want me to leave?"

"You can stay if you wish," Khan replied, eyes never leaving Spock.

Jim nodded, relieved, and found a place from which to watch.

The Vulcan raised one hand, fingers splayed. "Are you ready?"

Khan lowered his head. "Are you?"

"Certainly."

"Don't be so sure. You were kind enough to prepare me, so allow me to return the favor. What you will see in my mind will be shocking for your civilized intellect, coddled by twenty-third century existence as it is. It would be hard to endure even for my contemporaries."

Naturally, Spock did not smile. "I am a Vulcan. My ancestors were savages. I believe I will be able to manage your savagery."

"Then, by all means, proceed."

Spock touched the tips of his fingers to the Augment's face. "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts…." He fell silent, eyes losing focus as they stared into the memories of Khan's life. Jim noticed that the Augment's breathing had accelerated. Khan, too, kept his eyes open, and the look in them was anything but placid.

It got worse as the minutes passed. Jim watched both their expressions mirror the same feelings; violent, sad, ugly feelings; rage and hate and terror and loneliness, and very little joy.

When Spock finally removed his hand, both his and Khan's face were streaked with tears.

With a gasp, Khan surged to his feet, threw Jim a wild look, and bolted out the door.

"Go after him, Jim," Spock forced out, wiping his face.

Jim hesitated. "Will you be okay?"

"Yes. Go!"

Jim ran out into the corridor. To his surprise, the Augment had not gotten far. He stood facing the corridor wall just a few yards away, leaning with both hands against the wall, head bowed, breathing in gulping gasps.

He looked up when he heard Jim approach. His face was a battlefield.

"C'mon," Jim said, impulsively. "My quarters are just down there."

He lead the way, not knowing whether Khan would stay where he was, or storm away, or attack him. From the expression he had seen on the Augment's face, anything was possible. However, after a few steps, he heard the other man begin to follow, heard him breathing, stuttering and uneven. Finally, the door to Jim's quarters swished shut behind them.

Khan slid to the floor, his back to the wall next to the door, his hands fisted into his hair. He was not crying, exactly; more like making short, soft keening noises interspersed with sobs. To Jim, it looked like he was being torn apart by the feelings the meld had stirred up, desperately trying to hold himself together, literally, when he drew up his knees to his body to hide his face behind them. Shutting himself off. Battling his way through it, fighting to the end, alone.

Always alone.

Fuck that. Jim joined him on the floor and put an arm around his shoulders, feeling muscles hard as steel vibrate with tension. A pained sound was the only reaction Jim got, which, he supposed, was great, considering that the alternative might be a broken neck. He cast about for something suitable to say but came up empty. 'It's okay' was not going to cut it, since it very obviously was not. 'Spock has that effect on everyone' was inappropriately flippant. And 'I'm here' was just stating the obvious.

"I hope this is worth it," Khan said thickly, saving Jim any further mental effort. He raised his head and rubbed his face with both hands, shook his head violently, teeth bared, as though trying to scare his own feelings into submission.

Jim left his arm where it was, even daring to pull the Augment in closer. And, to his complete surprise, Khan slumped, letting Jim hold him upright, his head coming to rest on Jim's shoulder. But only for a moment, just long enough to get his breath back under control, did he allow himself to lean on somebody else. Still, Jim wondered if this had ever happened before. Whether it would happen again.

Then the moment ended. "Let us go and hear the verdict," Khan said, voice almost back to normal, moving out of Jim's half-embrace and getting to his feet.

Jim followed him to a stand. "Spock'll need a moment to get himself together," he objected.

Khan threw him a look. His eyes were still reddened, but apart from that, he seemed to have regained his control. "He can stand a little embarrassment after putting me through this," the Augment said in that dry undertone he had used before.

"I doubt it was intentional," Jim said, but he did have to smile.

"I know it wasn't." The Augment turned to face Jim. "Since your excellent First Officer, who would die for you in case you weren't aware, now knows all my thoughts, feelings, and intentions as if they were his own, he should no longer have a logical reason to object to my presence aboard your vessel."

Jim decided to put this revelation about Spock into his mental 'pending' file in favor of the slight emphasis on 'logical'. "But he may have an illogical one?"

Khan's voice was as dry as the desert. "That depends on whether he's the jealous type."

For a moment, Jim could not breathe. The Augment's piercing blue-green eyes were on him, too close for rational thought. Then Khan opened those improbable bow-shaped lips, and Jim was sure they were going to kiss. He found he had no objection.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Khan said softly, "Captain." He drew back, eyes still intense, not quite smiling.

Jim exhaled noisily. "If you're going to tease me like that, Khan, you might as well call me Jim."

Another hint of a smile. "I'll call you by your title as long as you call me by mine." He ran a hand through his hair and smoothed down his uniform. "Don't you want to know first if your gut feeling about me was correct?"

"I know it was correct, but you're right. Let's make it official."

"I apologize for my mistrust," Spock said formally.

Just like Khan, he was back to being completely in control, not a hair out of place, looking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Jim allowed himself a moment of fond exasperation at having to deal with two of them.

"Unnecessary," Khan said. "I'd have acted no differently in your place."

"Your intentions regarding this ship and her crew are no longer in doubt. However," the Vulcan continued, "I advise caution. Several crew members have lost relatives due to your actions a year ago and will harbor resentment towards you."

"They'll act professionally, or they can transfer right off my ship," Jim stated, grinning like an idiot. "'Harboring resentment' is fine. Acting on it is not."

"Indeed." Spock looked like he was about to add something but refrained.

"Great," Jim said brightly. He thought he might take a stab at guessing what it was his First Officer was not saying, but now was not the time. He turned to Khan. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Singh."

Khan closed his eyes in obvious relief. "Thank you, Captain."

Jim pushed the intercom button. "Lieutenant Uhura, give me ship-wide."

"Go ahead, Captain."

"Attention all personnel, this is your captain speaking. Effective immediately, due to exemplary conduct that single-handedly saved this ship and her crew, and following an in-depth investigation, Khan Noonien Singh is given the status of guest aboard this ship and granted access to all non-restricted areas. You're expected to treat him with all due courtesy. Kirk, out." Jim closed the intercom. "Well. I'd say this calls for a celebration."

The rec room was packed. It was not often that the crew got to indulge in a party, so everyone who was not on an active shift made it their business to be there.

Leonard McCoy peered at the Augment who currently was deep in conversation with Carol Marcus. The ship's food synthesizers had cooked up something resembling half-way decent pizza, which mellowed him somewhat, but not completely. "So, we're absolutely sure about this?" he said, not for the first time. Hey, he didn't have the benefit of being able to look into someone's mind, so excuse him for not being able to let go quite so quickly.

Spock, who had no use for pizza, took a sip of his tomato juice, or whatever it was. It certainly looked like tomato juice, but Leonard suspected that it was some alien, probably Vulcan, goo, and, knowing Spock, almost certainly very spicy. "There are no absolutes in nature, but yes. I am as certain as I can be."

Leonard took a bite off his slice and licked his fingers. "What's it like? The mind of an Augment. I suppose it's different from a human's."

"Judging from a very limited sample size, yes, it is different. Much more structured. Superior processing speed. True multitasking. Perfect recall. Impressive memory capacity. Highly adaptive."

Was Leonard detecting a trace of envy? Something to keep in mind for when the opportunity arose.

"Limbic system to neocortex connections are highly developed," the Vulcan continued, "I suspect to enable him to ignore pain stimuli in battle situations, and to access his instincts. But it also makes him subject to strong emotions once the limbic system is engaged."

"Right. Well. Okay. So, now you know all about him, right? You know what makes him tick."

He expected the inevitable comment on the idiom, but Spock surprised him. "I do."

"And, obviously, we both were dead wrong about him. He's not somehow genetically compelled to destroy anything he regards as inferior."

"Indeed not."

"That also means that history painted him in a bad light, right? I mean, you know what he did and didn't do three hundred years ago, right?"

Spock's expression did not change, but then again, Leonard did not really expect it to. "Yes, I do."

Leonard waited. Nothing was forthcoming. "But you're not going to tell me."

"The mind meld is private. I am satisfied as to Mr. Singh's morality."

Leonard grabbed another slice. "Fair enough. But, Jim saw him for what he could be without reading his mind. Why do you think that was?"

"Without violating a confidence, I can say that the captain made excellent use of what you humans call a 'gut feeling'. His actions when Mr. Singh was recovering in your sickbay were what diverted him from his intended course of action. In that, the captain has demonstrated remarkable perspicacity. He, too, divined what makes Mr. Singh 'tick'."

Leonard had to parse that one for a bit. "Okay. So, what was Khan's 'intended course of action', and what exactly did Jim do?"

"That is not for me to divulge."

"Fine." He caught sight of Jim, who was looking at Khan with a funny little smile. "So. What're we gonna do about that?" he said, nodding his head in the direction of the lovestruck idiot.

Spock looked at him askance. He was really good at that. "We are not going to 'do' anything, Doctor. If it were not for Captain Kirk's feelings and intuition, we would have missed this opportunity. Neither of us even considered the possibility of treating Noonien Singh as anything other than an enemy. It is not up to us to decide whether this development is to be prevented or not."

"So, you're on board with this?"

"I am not opposed to it."

Leonard grinned. "Didn't know you were such a romantic."

Predictably, Spock did not deign to grace that crack with a reply.

Grin still in place, Leonard excused himself and, grabbing his last pizza slice and his glass, joined Jim at his table. "What're they talking about?" he asked, nodding at Khan and Carol Marcus, on the basis that nothing said in the rec room during a party had a right to remain private.

To Leonard's amusement, Jim actually had to force the besotted grin off his face. "Weapons. I think. It moved beyond what I can grasp a while ago, and I'm pretty good with weapons."

Munching his pizza, Leonard watched Carol's animated face as she explained something using complicated hand motions; Khan was nodding along before taking over with equally complicated gestures. It was obvious that this was a meeting of like minds. "I'd've thought this would be a little more awkward," Leonard commented, nodding towards them. "She was pretty traumatized by what he did to her and her father."

Jim grinned. "Pheromones."

"What?"

"It's the standard explanation for everything involving him, apparently," Jim said. "Chekov started it." He grinned. "You should have seen Chief Giotto earlier."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Jim helped himself to what looked like olives but probably was something alien that Leonard did not really want to know about. "Asked Khan... asked him about improving the security cells so even an Augment wouldn't be able to break out, and he actually gave him some pointers. When they were finished, Giotto was practically in love. He promised to oversee the restructuring."

"Khan did."

"Yeah."

"Why are you avoiding saying his name?"

Jim ate another probably-not-olive. "'Cause that's not his name, it's a title. I'm trying to shake the habit of thinking of him as 'Khan'. His name is Noonien Singh."

Leonard nodded, his mouth being full of the rest of his pizza. Now that he thought about it, it became obvious that Spock had been doing the same thing just then. "What I've been meaning to ask you," he said when he could speak again. "Spock mentioned that you did something that night in sickbay, when Khan... when Singh was first barely hanging on and then getting better without my help. What was it?"

Jim smiled that funny little smile again. "The right thing. I didn't think about it. I just... didn't kick him when he was down. And I showed him that, if he wanted to, he'd have a place to belong, no strings attached."

That made sense. Leonard nodded again. "So, Marcus with all his coercion and threats and whatever else he did gets himself killed in the end, then along you come, and all you do is be a nice human being, and he's your friend for life?"

Khan and Carol Marcus were now bent over a PADD, heads almost touching, pointing things out to each other. "Yeah," Jim said, looking proud. "Turns out even augmented humans have simple human needs. A home, a family, a function in the universe."

Leonard rolled his eyes at Jim's the choice of words. Another romantic. God give him strength. "Well, Spock agrees with you, and he really should know, so I suppose it's all right."

Khan looked up, saw them, and rose, excusing himself. "Discussing ship's business, gentlemen?" he said, sitting down next to Jim.

Leonard did not miss the way Jim smiled at the Augment. "Don't tell me you didn't overhear us. The music's not that loud."

"I heard you talking about me. I assume it concerns ship's business."

Leonard eyed the probably-not-olives but decided not to risk them.

"Not really," Jim said, "not yet, anyway. But since you're here, have you thought about what you're going to do now? I suppose there'd be nothing stopping you from leaving this ship." It did not take a telepath or augmented senses to realize that that was not what Jim wanted.

"And take my revenge?" Khan said. "Seek out all Section 31 bases and obliterate everyone who ever worked on a certain project?"

Jim looked down at his hands. "Well, yeah. Of course, if you really did that, it'd be better if I don't know about it." Leonard could practically feel him holding his breath.

Khan eyed the olive lookalikes, took one and gave it a thorough visual inspection. "I've avenged myself on the man who killed my crew and used me for his own purposes. His death was violent and prolonged. And in any case, revenge is a dish best served cold."

Jim looked at Leonard, then back at Khan. "That sounds ominous."

Khan ate the olive-like thing, visibly enjoying drawing this out. "What I'm saying is that my immediate desire for revenge is satisfied. I won't actively seek out any Section 31 operatives, but if they happen to cross my path, I won't be responsible for my actions." He frowned, considering, then ate another olive-thing.

Jim pushed the bowl of probably-not-olives towards him. "So, you'll stay?" he asked hopefully.

"Do you want me to?" Now, that was a positively devilish grin.

Jim looked like he wanted to slap him. "Yes, dammit! Of course I want you to stay. The question is, what do you want?"

Khan seemed to like the not-olives, because he ate another one while he thought about his answer. "Ah, the offer is finally on the table. Very well, Captain. Here is my counter-offer. I will stay, and you are welcome to profit from my knowledge and my abilities. I will work as a consultant to you and your crew. However, I will decide the extent of what I offer on a case-by-case basis. I will not be bound by your orders. You may give me orders, but I'll decide if I want to follow them. If I don't agree, I'll make counter-suggestions that I deem to be in your best interest. You are free to refuse them, in which case I will not help you. Would that be acceptable?"

Jim did not even pretend having to think about it. "Yes, that would be acceptable. Those are my terms: You'll remain outside the chain of command with no authority over me and my crew except for what we choose to grant you on a case-by-case basis; you would never be mentioned in my reports, and never receive official commendations or acknowledgements in return for your consultancy. But you would receive food, accommodation, all the amenities this ship has to offer, and a place to belong - and all the action you care to be involved in. Which... I mean not just non-euphemistically." He gave a cheeky grin. "Would that be acceptable, Noonien?"

To Leonard's surprise, Khan actually closed his eyes in what looked like relief. When he opened them again, he was smiling. "Yes, Jim, it would." He blinked and got up from his chair. "Excuse me."

Leonard watched him leave the room and made a gesture indicating his general astonishment and incomprehension at the sudden departure.

Jim smiled sadly. "He needs a moment. I guess this was the first time anyone ever just accepted his terms and allowed him to stay without him having to conquer the place first."

"About time, then," Leonard said, not knowing whether to be sad for Khan or amused about Jim's emotional state. In the end, amusement won out.

But Jim did not see his grin; he was staring at the door through which Khan had left. "This will work, Bones."

Leonard saw the hope in his eyes, the determination. "And if it doesn't, you'll make it work, right?"

Jim returned his look, impossibly blue eyes blazing. "You bet I will."

Epilogue - One Year Later

They were running, again. This time, it was a gigantic reptile-like being that was pursuing them through the dense foliage of an alien planet.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate this?" McCoy panted.

"Frequently," Jim replied, out of breath as well. They had been running for a while, but here was the small clump of bushes, and it seemed as if the race was finally nearing the finish line.

Noticing that the sounds of lumbering pursuit behind them had ceased, Jim came to a stop and turned around. "You can stop complaining now, Bones. Noonien's got this."

"About time he got his superior ass over here," Bones grumbled. He, too, had stumbled to a halt, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, fighting to get his breath back. "I've got to put in more hours in the gym."

A few dozen yards away, their consultant-slash-bodyguard had tackled the reptile thing that had chosen them for dinner to the ground and was cheerfully goading it into a fight with well-aimed punches. It had several feet and at least eight hundred pounds on him.

"Should we call in for reinforcements?" McCoy panted.

"Nah." Jim grinned, dropping down into the grass to watch. "He'll have a bit of fun with it. It'll hopefully give him a proper workout. He doesn't get enough of those."

"The workouts you're giving him not cutting it, Jim?"

Jim threw him a look. "Of course not. He's terrified of hurting me. Being five times stronger than a human isn't funny when you really want to let go."

The air was filling with roars and reptilian cries of pain.

"Godzilla isn't looking too good," McCoy commented, before adding, "That sucks."

"Don't worry about it." Jim had to raise his voice over the sounds of foliage being smashed. He could feel himself grinning. "It's a nice problem to have." Besides, restraint or no, the sex was spectacular, but he wasn't going to give Bones any details.

The reptile being had regained its feet and was snapping at Noonien, who tumbled out of reach easily before ducking down and going in at the creature's underbelly, evading jaws and claws with deadly elegance. Watching him move, Jim felt the same mixture of admiration and envy he had experienced back on Kronos when he had first seen the Augment fight, but now, there was a sense of possessive pride in there as well.

He had felt it when Noonien saw through the Berengarians' battle strategy, ensuring victory for the Enterprise last week; when the Augment's ability to hold his breath for ten minutes had saved the lives of the landing party a month ago; when he had agreed to be the ritual sacrifice for the Caputhians so that the rest of the team could go free six weeks ago; when he had kept the landing party alive after they crash-landed a shuttle on Theta Scorpionis IV two months ago. Anything coming for them would have to go through this essence of peak perfection in everything that had devoted himself to Jim and his crew. With that on his side, Jim was ready to take on the universe.

Hours later, when they were both resting in Jim's quarters - which had the bigger bed - and Jim was listening to Noonien's even breathing as the Augment lay deeply asleep next to him, trusting and relaxed, he reveled in the awareness that this was his life, was going to continue to be his life, and that he had been wrong a year ago.

It had gotten better.

- The End -

A/N: So, that's it. I hope you like it, even though it got a bit fluffy in the end.

I suppose this could be the pilot for a series of fics, now that I've gotten Khan aboard the Enterprise (and into Jim's bed, lol). Would anybody be interested in reading more of that?