Title: Sticks and Stones (14/?)
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Pairing: Kirk/Spock/McCoy
Summary: Sequel to Many Bells Down; Riverside ‘verse AU. Khan is hell-bent on destroying everything and everyone James Kirk cares about until Jim surrenders the most important person of all—himself.
Previous Part: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

There is more Riverside ‘verse story! If you have not read it yet, please take the time to enjoy a one-shot called The Anniversary, set after Along Comes a Stranger and before the Khan-fiasco began in Many Bells Down.

Part Thirteen

Leonard stalks toward Jim with the obvious intention of reaming him for busting out of his bedroom and ignoring doctor’s orders; he seems oblivious to the general panicked milling of the Q in his single-minded focus to get to Jim. Therefore Jim takes it upon himself to enlighten his fiery-eyed boyfriend of current events (thereby stall Leonard’s tantrum and Jim’s impending demise) as dramatically as he can. Of course, Jim isn’t entirely faking the drama—because a dead Lady Q is certainly dramatic news enough to send him careening into a shocked panic like everybody else.

“Bones!” He flings himself at his boyfriend and takes a hold of McCoy’s shoulders.

“Jim, I told you—!”

“I had to find out what they were up to, and then Khan was here, Lady Q went in there—” He stabs a finger at the doorway where several Q are collapsed in a circle and keening. For a near-silent community of people, they can be very loud when they want to be. “—and then he escaped, somehow she’s dead,” Jim babbles, “and holy FUCK, why is this Q still attached to my leg?” The grieving Q only tightens his hold on Jim’s limb when Jim tries to shake him off. At any other time, he would be comforting the man but there’s something not quite right about this whole scenario—like how the Q seems to be preventing Jim from seeing the state of Lady Q for himself by making Jim drag him bodily across the floor.

Some part of Jim’s rapid-fire speech catches Leonard’s attention. “Did you say dead?”

Jim points at his shirt, stained red with Lady Q’s life’s blood. “Apparently. Which makes me glad you are here, Bones.” He half-turns and bellows over the pandemonium, “Doctor McCoy wishes to inspect the body!”

Sudden silence fills Westling Hall, barring a sniffle or two. The Q unwinds from Jim’s leg and sits up. “That is not possible, sir.” he says. “It i-is sacrilegious for a non-Q to view the body of her Ladyship.”

Jim crosses his arms. “Then I’ll just have to believe she’s alive. In fact,” he pitches his voice ominously, “I think you’re lying to me. Am I right, Q?”

Leonard’s brows draw together in confusion. He even admits, “I’m confused. Is Lady Q dead or not?”

The Q on the floor retrieves a white handkerchief from his pocket and delicately blows his nose. After a moment, he murmurs, eyes cutting around the hall at the other Q, “Sir, I assure you her Ladyship is no longer among the living.”

“You are a terrible actor,” Jim says, sounding much too pleasant. He dabs at the red stain on his shirt and then licks his finger. “Mmm, raspberry. Or strawberry jam. I can’t decide.” He holds his finger out to Bones. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m confused as hell, Jim. Why are there handprints of jam on your shirt?”

“Why is the Q pretending it’s blood?” Jim counters. He returns his gaze at the Q, eyes hard despite his tone. “You’re obviously an amateur when it comes to faking a death—you and Lady Q both. Now… WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. GOING. ON?”

“Sir,” the Q begins nervously.

“WHERE IS KHAN?”

The Q sucks in a deep breath—and, with a cry, prostrates himself over Jim’s shoes. “Forgive me, Captain Kirk!”

Jim tamps down on a flare of temper. He hauls the Q off his shoes before turning to Bones. “Come with me.” Meaning, let’s find the truth for ourselves.

None of the Q attempt to intervene as he moves to the door of the room where the act of murder was supposedly committed. However, when he pushes the door open, one of the bodyguard Q within the room immediately steps into his path.

Jim smiles. “Move, mister.”

“You are forbidden from entering this—”

“Oh, it’s quite all right, Q. Let him pass.”

Jim steps around the bodyguard and focuses on the woman at the other end of the room, perched in a high-backed Victorian chair eating strawberry jam and wafers. Lady Q waves her butter knife at Jim in greeting. “I see I’ve been caught in my fib, dearest. Would you like a cookie?”

“You…” Jim clenches and unclenches his fists, unable to say the word on the tip of his tongue.

His boyfriend seems to think manners should have long-since been tossed out of the window. “Are you kidding me? Son of a bitch! What the hell is the matter with you! You can’t play games about life and death!” he roars.

Lady Q very carefully sets down her butter knife and stares at McCoy. “I do not appreciate your tone, Doctor McCoy. How dare you speak to me in that way!”

Jim steps in front of Bones. “Oh, he dares, Lady Q—and I agree with him. What was the purpose of your charade? To make me believe Khan had killed you? To provoke me into revenge? Or is this purely for your amusement at our expense?”

Lady Q says nothing. Then there is commotion at the door. The bodyguard, after listening to a series of knocks, allows a newcomer entrance to the room. A Q who bows before Lady Q. “Your Ladyship, the traitor has been apprehended.”

“And the others?”

“Captured once again and restored to the holding room.”

“Excellent. Bring the man here. We have… matters to discuss.” When the Q is gone, she turns her impassive gaze to Jim. “You accuse me of an act petty and selfish in nature, James Tiberius Kirk. Yes, deception was the intent of my charade, but it was for a purpose known only to a few but beneficial to many. In a moment you shall see the reward of such a scheme… and I hope it convinces you that I am less a fool than you perceive me to be.”

Jim is uncertain what to make of her explanation so he asks the only thing that comes to mind. “Khan was never here, was he?”

“No.” The old woman pauses. “That is not to say a meeting was not scheduled.” Her mouth curves at Jim’s expression. “Does that surprise you, James? Mr. Singh is not so foolhardy as to walk into Q territory unannounced. He may be ruthless at heart but he is as erudite as any man belonging to a higher class of society, because that is how he wishes to be perceived by the world. Therefore Khan and I, we play on a level entirely unlike the one between you and he. Our rules of engagement are, shall we say, politer?” She picks up her butter knife again and proceeds to spread a layer of jam over a thin wafer. “He desired to meet this afternoon but I fear the man met with an unfortunate delay in his plans… which has lent us valuable time.” At the solid rap upon the door, she calls to her guards, “Allow them entry, my good Q, but remain alert. There will be a traitor among us.”

Five men enter the chamber, four of them surrounding one silent Q. The man is clearly not present of his own volition. Lady Q motions at his captors to stand to the side and they do so, a flicker of distaste passing across their faces as they allow the Q to stand alone. Jim notices then that all of the Q in the room except the traitor (whose face he cannot see) make an effort to keep their expressions reserved. The traitor’s eyes are trained on the rug.

Leonard prods Jim with his elbow. “Now I’m really confused. What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” he whispers. Jim pulls Leonard to a wall of a room without being told; as this appears to be some affair of great importance, he suspects Lady Q expects them to play the roles of silent observers.

“We, the Q, are here to acknowledge your crime against us,” Lady Q begins, speaking to the silent man. “Tell me, Q—do you understand the gravity of the crime?”

“Yes, your Ladyship.”

“And are you aware of the penalty for your actions?”

The man remains unmoving. “Yes, your Ladyship.”

“Do you agree your trial shall be conducted with justice and impartiality, by the law of the Q; that your punishment, when delivered, shall be fair?”

“Yes, your Ladyship.”

Leonard’s elbow pokes Jim again. “Are they actually going to say what it is he’s done?”

“Then explain to me, Q,” the matriarch of the Q intones flatly, gripping her butter knife in one hand, “why. Why would you forsake all that you have known as Q to betray us?”

When the man, the traitor Q, does not stir or raise his head to speak, Lady Q’s open palm slams onto the arm of her chair, a crack of sound in the oppressive silence. The Q standing to Jim’s right is a statue, unflinching in the face of her Ladyship’s anger. Yet the show of temper seems to have an effect on the man bearing the brunt of her attention. His body sways slightly as he says, hardly above a whisper, “H-He promised me more.”

“That is not an answer, Q! What could Khan Noonien Singh give you that we cannot or have not?”

The Q’s chin sinks to his chest. He shudders once. “I… plead silence. To speak further will dishonor my brothers and sisters.”

For a moment, Jim thinks Lady Q is going to demand otherwise. But her grip on her butter knife relaxes somewhat. “Yes,” she agrees with a strange calmness, “you should not dishonor yourself further. But know this, Q: what you have sought to do this day shall always be your burden to carry. That outcome I cannot change.” To the four Q who escorted him into the room, “Remove him to the Quarter. There he shall remain until the trial convenes.”

Jim steps away from the wall. “Lady Q?”

“James.”

“What is this man’s crime?” Better to ask, he thinks, than spend the rest of eternity wondering.

The traitor finally lifts his head to look at Jim. “James Kirk?” he asks in a strained voice. Jim tenses. A Q guard shifts as though to silence the traitor but Lady Q intervenes with “Let him speak.” The Q says slowly, “I was directed to deliver a message to James Kirk upon the completion of my assignment.” He pauses before quoting the nursery rhyme, “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again.” With a sigh, message delivered, the Q lowers his head and allows himself to be removed from the room without protest.

Leonard repeats the line softly to himself. “I don’t like the sound of that,” he tells Jim.

“It’s Khan gloating,” Jim explains simply and pivots to face the old woman in the high-backed chair. “I think I understand now. Khan’s presence was pretense but the escape of the prisoners was real,” he says, remembering the first alarm that had initiated panic.

She dips her head in agreement. “Khan may have placed a traitor in our midst, but we have one of ours in his. He intended to cuckold me, James; during the moment I felt securest in my power, he would steal my best playing card from under my nose.” Her smile has a slight, bitter edge to it. “I won have this round, you see. I have his men and the one who would free them to win his favor.”

“And now?” Jim wants to know.

“Now we allow the wolf into the den, dear, where we have set our own traps for him.”

“I’ve got a headache,” Leonard mutters as he rubs at his left temple. He grimaces at Jim. “How do you not have a headache from all this?”

Jim toes off his tennis shoes and briefly considers the boots (of a mysteriously dead captain) at the base of his bed before dismissing them. “Aren’t there any normal pairs of shoes around here?”

“You’re taking them off.”

Jim frowns. “I can’t face Khan in my sneakers.”

“Damn it, Jim, what’s it matter what you’re wearin’? Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?”

Sure he had. Bones’d told Lady Q and Jim in very detailed language what he thought about a showdown with Khan. Both Jim and Lady Q had chosen to ignore him.

“If I wear what she wants me to wear, Khan will laugh himself silly,” Jim complains. “But if I show up in my pajamas, not even I would take myself seriously. Crap.” He pulls at his hair. “Why can’t I have my own closet with my own clothes? Bones, c’mon, man, think of something.“

Jim is unprepared to be dragged around by the back of his shirt and kissed by McCoy. Leonard pulls away until their noses are almost touching. “You know what I said about the no-sex thing?”

“Yeah,” Jim says, eyes wide.

“You can absolutely have sex with me, Jim. Right now, in fact.”

“Um…” Jim struggles to remember why this isn’t something he should want to do. “Khan. Coming over. Soon?”

Leonard smiles and trails his lips along Jim’s jaw. “Sex, Jim. Lots of it. Sound good?”

“But when will I get to meet Khan?”

Jim stumbles backwards as Leonard shoves him out of his personal space with a curse. “You stubborn fool! You’re supposed to forget about Khan!”

Jim’s mouth thins into a half-smirk; his eyes glint mischievously. “You were trying to trick me, Bones? With my own libido? That’s low… though under other circumstances it would definitely have worked.”

McCoy glares at Jim. “So you think chasing bad guys is better than getting laid?”

“Not better, Bones, but just as good.”

“There’s something wrong with you,” Leonard mutters. “By the way, your two weeks of abstinence just became a month.” Ignoring Jim’s immediate denial of said traumatic news, he turns away. “We need Spock.”

Jim follows his boyfriend into the sitting room, his bare feet sinking into the carpet; he doesn’t dare admit his pride is still smarting over the two-week extension of his life as a monk. “Where is he?”

“Don’t know. Last time I saw him he was eyeing Pike like a dog eyes a cat. Winona intervened before things could get ugly.”

So, Spock hasn’t forgiven Pike yet. That pleases Jim more than a little bit. “We should do something about Pike.”

“Like what?” Leonard asks.

“I don’t know, but I’m sick of being the decoy. Why isn’t Pike ever the decoy?”

“I think he graduated from that class, Jim.”

Jim pauses between the sitting room door and hallway and frowns. “What are you saying?”

Leonard shoots him an exasperated look. “You said it yourself: you love trouble and trouble loves you.”

Jim disagrees to Leonard’s retreating back. “Hey, I never said I love trouble!”

“That’s what your middle initial stands for—trouble! Now damn it, where’s that nosy lawyer gotten to?”

When Jim and Leonard find him, Spock is drinking tea. With Christopher Pike.

Jim looks between the two men suspiciously. Leonard wants to know, since each man is holding a cup aloft but not drinking from it, “Who poisoned the tea?”

“The tea is not poisoned,” Spock says smoothly, never breaking his staring contest with Pike. “We are attempting civilized behavior… at Winona’s request.”

Jim plucks Spock’s tea cup from his hand. “There’s no time for this. Khan’s coming over.”

Chris lowers his tea cup. “Excuse me?”

Jim ignores Pike. “Spock, how good are you at bluffing?”

Leonard snorts. “Do you seriously need to ask that, Jim, or have you forgotten that time we played poker?”

Jim rolls his eyes. “It was strip-poker, and I let Spock win because the point was to get out of my clothes, not keep them on. You’re just jealous, Bones, because you really are a lousy poker player.”

“That cannot be correct,” Spock interjects immediately, apparently taken aback by the notion he did not win fairly.

Jim grins a little. “Spock, I know the difference between an ace and a two. Don’t worry, we’ll have a rematch—and then you’ll get to meet Jimmy’s Royal Flush.”

“Gentlemen,” Christopher Pike says, “if we could return to a more relevant topic of conversation…”

Jim cuts a sly look at Pike. “How’s my Royal Flush not relevant?”

“Jim,” Leonard groans, “enough.” To Chris, “You can ignore half the things he says, ’cause they are irrelevant. I guess Lady Q didn’t tell you about Khan’s fieldtrip to her house?”

“Not in the least,” Christopher mutters darkly. He stands up and removes his coat from the back of his chair. “Where?”

Jim narrows his eyes at Pike. “You aren’t invited.”

Leonard clamps a hand over Jim’s mouth. “See? Irrelevant.”

Jim’s muffled protest is heated.

Spock rises from the table also. “Perhaps you could enlighten us on the particulars, Doctor McCoy, as we proceed to the appointed destination.”

Leonard’s mouth quirks. “Certainly, Mr. Spock.” After he removes his hand from Jim’s mouth he wipes in on his pants in disgust. “You didn’t have to drool on me, kid.”

Jim’s response is a succinct gesture with his middle finger.

If Khan, who arrives within the hour, is surprised to find Lady Q and her army of men waiting for him, he gives no sign of it. He even smiles broadly as he enters the overly large study designated as their meeting area and bends down to kiss the back of the seated Lady Q’s hand then tip his head in acknowledgement at Spock. To McCoy and Pike, he says only, “Well met” as if they’ve encountered each other on a stroll through the park.

Then his eyes land on Jim.

Jim doesn’t wait to hear whatever condescending piece of shit is about to drop out of Khan’s mouth. “You must be pissed.”

Khan’s smile widens a fraction, displaying more teeth than can be called friendly. “Oh?”

Jim shrugs nonchalantly. “That I’m alive and kicking.” About to kick your ass, that is. “After all, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to see it otherwise.”

“Hmm,” Khan hums thoughtfully as he takes a seat in a large leather chair and crosses his legs. “And why would I wish you harm, Mr. Kirk?”

“Cut the bullshit!” McCoy snaps.

Spock places a restraining hand on Leonard’s arm but he says to Khan, “Leonard is not incorrect, of course. Let us talk business, Mr. Singh. I believe you are aware of your situation.”

“No, I do not believe so. What situation have I come into, Mr. Spock?”

Spock doesn’t take the bait. His answer is a whiplash of cool reserve. “Your contractors are under the supervision of the Q. We intend, of course, to use them to expose your unlawful acts to the public.”

Khan merely steeples his fingers. “Lady Q,” he says, addressing the equally calm-looking woman, “I am under the impression the Q do not become involved in the… trivial concerns of those not within the network of the Q.”

Lady Q inclines her head ever-so-slightly. “You speak a truth, Mr. Singh. We Q choose our associations wisely.”

“Then I hope you are aware of why I pose a better ally than any other man in this room.”

She taps her fan against her armrest, amused. “Ah, you called this gathering to propose an alliance?”

Khan flicks his dark-eyed gaze to Kirk before returning his attention to Lady Q. “An alliance to which only certain parties are privy—you, as a Queen, being among them.”

Lady Q beams at Jim. “Do you see? I am acknowledged as a royal monarch. How lovely!”

“I never said you weren’t one,” Jim mutters.

Lady Q sniffs and points her fan at McCoy. “He said I was a nuisance.”

“Oh but, Lady Q,” Jim says in a false simpering tone, “from Bones that’s a compliment! Just yesterday he called me a bonehead while he—”

“Jim!” his boyfriend hisses.

Jim grins wickedly at Leonard then turns his wicked grin to Khan. “An alliance with the Q is a no-can-do, Khan. But you know that, don’t you? Tell us, why are you really here?”

Khan lifts one finely shaped eyebrow. “Most interesting, most interesting indeed. Do you suggest I am a liar?”

“I think you’re smart enough to know that someone who has my back isn’t likely to watch yours. Or didn’t Pike and McCoy’s defection drive that point home?”

“I never trusted them,” Khan says easily. “How could I? Christopher Pike works for a government that would see me ruined, and your Doctor McCoy is a man who leads with his heart. But they were useful for their purpose.”

Jim finds himself grinding his back teeth; with effort, he unclenches his jaw. “And what purpose was that?”

But Khan smiles and switches the subject. “I believe you were correct earlier. I should be angry with you, Mr. Kirk.” His eyes are hooded like hawk’s as it watches its prey. “Gaila came home under a misconception. Luckily,” he rumbles, “I corrected that.”

Jim had felt no fear up until now. “What did you tell her?”

“I… explained everything.” The look in his eyes is cold, too cold. He allows for a delicate pause. “Despite any relationship you may have had with her in the past, Jim, you won’t be seeing my wife again.”

Khan casually turns his hand to catch the sunlight filtering in through the curtains. A strange buzzing fills Jim’s ears.

He hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t… but now he cannot un-see it. The ring. A plain gold band on Khan’s left hand.

Somebody screams. Jim realizes distantly it’s him, letting out a terrible bellow of rage as he skirts the wide desk in the study and leaps for Khan’s throat. The bastard—married to Gaila. No. No, never.

He’d lied to her, of course, when he said he would be at her wedding to support her. Jim knows now he could have never stood idly by and let her become Mrs. Khan Singh. He had hoped he would have found a way to change her mind, had thought she had finally realized Khan wasn’t with her for the right reasons. But none of that matters because, because…

Khan is laughing as Pike hauls Jim backwards out of reach of Khan. Jim fights him, fights to get free, screaming, “You son of a bitch! You son of a fucking bitch!” He turns his rage on Pike instead. “Let me go! Damn you for everything you’ve done, Chris, let me go! You owe me!”

Khan tells the motionless Lady Q, “How long shall we play these games?” He flows from his chair to his feet and mockingly half-bows toward her. “Forgive my hasty departure, but your pet needs to be calmed before we can speak again.”

Her eyes bore into his. “You presume much, Khan Noonien Singh.”

“I presume nothing,” he counters. “I always know—as I know you will learn nothing from my associates. However, I might learn something from yours.”

She stiffens. He bids her good day.

Pike releases Jim the moment Khan is gone. In his peripheral vision, he sees Spock let go of McCoy too, who had been just as eager to get to the smug bastard. But Jim’s hot temper propels him forward, ignoring Spock’s sharp call of his name and McCoy’s cry of “Wait!” Khan isn’t in the hallway when Jim bursts through the study door. And no matter how far he runs, Jim cannot find Khan skulking on the grounds. That infuriates him more.

When he spies Pike again, he makes a beeline for the man, intent on venting his rage. Christopher holds up a hand to stall him, which wouldn’t have worked if he hadn’t also said, “Khan’s lying through his teeth, son.”

“Did you see the ring on his hand?” Jim spits. Then, so so angry, he twists around to pace.

“What’s a ring mean without a partner? Hell, I’ve got a ring I use when I go to a bar and don’t want women hounding me. Think, Jim. He wants to push your buttons, make you do something crazy. Don’t assume Gaila married him unless she tells you that face-to-face.”

McCoy grabs Jim’s shoulders to still his pacing, like he can ground Jim by doing so. “Let’s find her, Jim. Chris is right on this.”

Jim’s eyes skip to Spock. Spock nods slightly. “I don’t just want to find her, Bones,” Jim says at last. “I want her away from Khan. You’ll help me do that,” he doesn’t ask, staring directly at Pike.

The man sighs like he hadn’t expected anything else.

Anger on a leash again, he snags the first Q to cross his path. “I want my motorcycle.”

The Q looks at him askance. “Of course, sir. Her Ladyship has already relayed the message. Your transportation shall be available shortly.”

Jim lets the man go. At his shoulder, Spock says, “It would seem the Lady Q knows you well.”

Jim scrubs at his hair. “She’s always one step ahead of us.”

“Hm,” Spock muses thoughtfully. “What we must wonder is: is she one step ahead of her enemies as well?”

“One can hope,” Leonard mutters.

A high, feminine voice laughs behind them. “How else might I have enticed his Lordship Q into marriage had I been but a simpleton?” comes the coquettish reply. Lady Q, followed by her retinue of Q, descends on Jim. “My dearest James, it is most urgent that you leave to rescue the lady Gaila forthwith. I have it on good authority that brute of a man, Khan, has not convinced her of his innocence and this bodes ill for the fate of the fair maiden.”

Jim, now adept at Lady-Q-speak, translates this news quickly. When it fully assimilates into his brain, he stares at her for a long, silent moment. Afterward, his only comment is: “He won’t have the chance.” Because consequences be damned, Gaila is his to protect. Khan can destroy every inch of Jim’s sanity and Jim’s happiness but he cannot—shall not, ever—hurt his friend and live.

Next Part

Related Posts:

• Sticks and Stones (18/18) – from April 19, 2012
• Sticks and Stones (17/18) – from April 17, 2012
• Emotional Much? – from April 17, 2012
• Sticks and Stones (16/17) – from April 13, 2012
• Sticks and Stones (15/17) – from April 11, 2012