*Cough* Sooo, yes, I cliff hangered you all. But I'm here to post a new chapter, so at least the pain isn't overlong! Just a note, the poem lines at the end aren't my own, it's from the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale - it's a lovely poem, I recommend it for sure. Short but powerful. Anyhow - enough jabber! Enjoy!

Evelette stayed very still, a high pitched shriek reverberating around her skull. Her body was numb, but at the same time everything tingled. The weight on her was almost unbearable, and she knew she needed to move it and get a proper breath, but was too afraid to attempt the motion.

In the end, it was the groan in her ear that made her flinch, and with a gasp she remembered all at once what the weight was.

"Khan!" She cried, struggling to free her arms from underneath him. "Khan, can you hear me?"

He made a noise of assent, but didn't move. He breathed in sharply as she tried to move out from under him, so she stopped immediately. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing." His voice was strained. He shifted his arms, moving them on either side of her in order to lift his chest off her. He looked down at her, his hair fallen to cover part of his face. Even now, he was alert, trying to fight down the paint that was clearly a potent distraction for him as well as her. She could feel her own warm blood sticking to her brow, her ears ringing from the impact. The case was open beside her in the cradle the curved wall provided them, one needle still secured in its place and another empty and discarded nearby.

"Are you alright?" His voice drew her out of her reflection.

"The needle…" She murmured tiredly, letting her eyes close for a moment. "How long have we been here?"

"Too long – do you feel any pain in your side?"

"My side?"

"You had shard of glass from one of the displays puncturing your lungs."

Her eyes flew open, hands going instinctively to her side. Her fingers felt strangely cool against the newly formed skin made accessible by a massive tare in her dress.

"Eve?"

"Yes." She promised. "Yes I'm fine."

He sighed, gaze lingering over her face a little longer before he moved off her, gripping the wall carefully. They were very close to where the front window of the bridge had been – the glass now gone, showing a plunge into a smoke filled world, small dots scattering about wildly like insects from a cracked open hive. Eve crawled as close to the edge as she dared, trying to comprehend what they'd done.

"You're covered in blood." Khan leaned forward, pushing her hair back to examine her brow. His blood had closed the open wound, but evidence of its existence was plain. She moved her head down, pulling up the neck of her dress and attempting to mop up the mess. Neither of them spoke of what hung in the air, the screams from down below a chilling accompaniment of the ones Khan's crew were unable to make.

When she looked over at him, she could see the fury in his eyes. To have had them, and lost them again…

"The man who did it, Spock…"

"Will pay with all her holds dear." Khan said, his voice vacant but too hard to be casual.

Nodding, Eve pushed at her face, realizing that at some point the crash had cracked her fingers back into place as well as her nose. She flexed her fingers, staring at the red stained into her skin. She breathed in sharply as Khan took her hand, and she watched as he stared at the connection, turning her hand over in his, splaying her fingers and tracing the pattern of her palm.

"I'm sorry." She breathed.

"The Enterprise was damaged catastrophically in the final attack. Your final attack. We're all that's left, if that crew is lucky. We need time for you to mend, as well as to gather information."

Eve took a deep breath. Time sounded… good. "It's not safe here. If they've survived to, Spock will want to come after us."

The prompt was unnecessary, Khan already drawing to his feet and examining the grim leap ahead. He offered a hand, helping her to her feet after she collected the last vial and tucked it back into her boot. "You've used two already." He noted.

"I hate being this fragile." Eve muttered, the familiar sense of fear returning as she considered the task before them. "We have to change that."

"My thought as well. But for the present," he picked her up, moving to the precipice. Sparks skipped across the floor and dropped ahead of them, the whole city seeming to be nothing but a display. It would have been breath taking if not for the unmistakable chaos and despair. "When we reach the bottom, stay close."

"If you drop me…" Eve laughed nervously, holding tight.

"I won't."

For both of them, he leapt. They fell, through hissing steam and shrieking sirens. They landed on part of the ship, Eve landing in Khan and the pair sliding uncontrollably down the sheer edge of the body of the Vengeance.

They hit the ground to hard, too fast. She was flung for his arms, catapulted and skipping almost as far as they'd jumped before she finally rolled to halt on shattered marble. He was up in an instant, dragging her to her feet and guiding her through oily black smoke and into the crowd of civilians trying to fight their way past the Starfleet officers forced by duty to make their way towards the crash. No one paid them any mind, Khan holding Eve only made them look like victims of the crash. They burst out onto the street and he dropped her to her feet, stopping to steal a long coat off the back of an abandoned café chair and tossing her a scarf and female styled leather jacket.

People everywhere were screaming for loved ones or from pain, the shrapnel from the ship and the building demolished by it having spread over a massive radius. On impact, thousands of tons of superheated metal had rained over the area leaving sizzling piles of molten steel everywhere. People with burns were all around them, screaming. Sirens were louder still, adding to the madness as Eve put the coat on with unfeeling hands, staring at a woman holding her child and rocking back and forth, kissing the little girl as she sniffled weakly.

Khan's hand closed around hers like a vice, and Eve cried out in surprise and pain. He forced her forward running at a hellish speed, and it took everything for her to try and keep up. She dared a glance over her shoulder, and felt the drowning suffication of swelling rage as she saw Spock hot on their heels. Khan dropped her hand, rushing ahead in time to smash through the glass of an office door, not even slowed by it as he tore through the lobby, Eve dancing over the glistening shards and jumping over the railing of the stairs he was zigzagging down, landing hard beside him and gasping in pain as her side flared up, the progress of healing clearly diminishing.

Khan shoved a woman out of the way, he and Eve running full boar onto the highway amidst horns of angry drivers and screeches of air breaks as the vehicles swirled and swerved around them.

"Give me your hand!" He shouted over his shoulder, Eve starting to fall behind as her lungs burned with like she had inhaled fire, the need to rid her body of building carbon dioxide and replenish oxygen growing to levels her body couldn't supply. She thrust out her hand, and by pausing only an instant he forced her to collide with him, sweeping her up onto his back and continuing on with hardly a hitch in his stride. She flailed wildly, trying to get hold and keep from tangling her legs in his as she watched him running for a railing. A dumpster speeder was lifting up past it, and Eve didn't have time to be afraid before Khan leapt off the rail, the two of them flying up to slam onto the top of the machine. Eve rolled off his back and landed on her back, Khan crouched and watching their pursuer.

It swayed noticeably to the right, and Khan got to his feet as Eve gripped the plating of the speeder desperately, the machine taking off at full tilt. Khan strode over to the right as a hand appeared, lifted his boot, and stomped down. A flash of silver fell into the pit that stretched under them hundreds of meters deep, and Khan leaned down to seize the neck of Spock's uniform and lift him up, throwing him face first into one of the two tails of the dumpster.

Spock landed hard, staggering back, but as Khan strode over and wound up, he was getting himself steady. Khan swung and Spock ducked, delivering a swing of his own with slammed against the side of Khan's face. He of course was unmoved, swinging back with the back of his fist which Spock used an arm to parry, Khan swinging up a leg to continue the motion and throwing Spock back to the very edge. He hurried forward, ducking under another punch and snaking up, snaring his fingers onto Khan's shoulder.

He let out a scream the likes of which Eve had never heard from Khan. He dropped to his knees, agonized and yet withstanding the Vulcan's brutal attack better than any human should have been able.

Eve pushed to her feet, spurred by Khan's pain. She ran and tackled Spock, both of them flying into the other tail of the speeder, but only the edge. They spun, and Eve screamed as for a moment her body hung out in the air. Spock reached out, trying to get hold of the hand that wasn't clamped around the wing.

The speeder dove to the left, and Eve was thrown forward into him, the pair landing back onto the machine securely. He made to touch her, and Eve hit him as hard as she could.

Spock cried out, falling back into Khan's legs as Khan stood, holding his shoulder protectively. He booted Spock in the back of the head and the Vulcan slammed forward, Eve moving out of the way as he crawled forward, another kick from Khan landing him on his back. Khan leaned down, gripping both sides of Spock's head as he forced the man to his feet. Spock roared in pain, reaching forward and placing his three fingers on the side of Khan's face.

For a moment they were locked, both suffering almost to the point they could not take. And then Khan drove Spock's face down into his knee, and threw the Vulcan aside.

"Eve!" He shouted, and she hurried to him as Spock groaned on the metal platform. She joined Khan's side, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes met Spock's for a moment, and the confusion in them was disarming. Then she was propelled forward, flying through the air to land on a second speeder. She stood for a moment, Khan reaching out to steady her, and then Spock landed in front of them, rolling backwards as he landed unevenly. He dropped off the end, his hand barely visible.

Khan growled as he watched Spock pulling himself up, storming over to boot Spock's face and he managed to get back aboard. Khan knelt into Spock's chest, lifting and punching his face over several times before he took hold of Spock again, his hands pressing into the sides of the Vulcan's skull. Spock's eyes went wide, and Eve clung to the tail watching as the two men stared at each other.

The word stop hung on her lips, thinking of Carol screaming for Marcus. But this was justice – maybe not her kind of justice, blood for blood, but for Khan this was how it had to end. Then, before Evelette's eyes, Uhura appeared in a white glow. The woman turned, lifted her phaser, and shot.

Khan cried out, moving off Spock as she loosed several stun shots into him.

"Khan!" Eve screamed, trying to get to him but hit across the face by the butt of the gun as Uhura turned on her. She saw Spock move on top of Khan, the sudden reversal renewing the rage she saw no reason for him to have. Uhura moved between her and the men, silver gun trained on Eve. "Step back!"

"You don't deserve to be saved!" Eve shouted. "I tried to help you and you destroyed everything! He's killing him!"

"Doctor, don't!" Uhura warned. That was when she looked behind, seeing Spock slamming some sort of piece of the machine against the motionless form of Khan over and over. "Spock stop!" She screamed. "He's our only hope to save Kirk!"

Evelette rushed forward, grabbing Uhura's phaser and turned, yanking the woman's arm round and aiming it at Spock, firing. The Vulcan grunted, lurching back out of the way of the blue streak. Eve smashed her elbow into Uhura's, slipping the gun free and spinning round to seize hold of the woman, pulling her arm around her throat and pressing the phaser to her head, quickly switching it off stun.

Spock froze, watching Eve as Uhura squirmed. "Release her."

"Why do you need him to save Kirk?" Eve demanded, ignoring Spock and looking to her prisoner.

"Kirk's dead. He died saving all of us after Khan fired that weapon on the Enterprise. Khan's blood can bring him back." Uhura shouted over the wind. "We need him!"

"Mr. Spock, step away from him or she's dead." Eve moved her arm from around Uhura, stepping back but continuing to keep the pistol on her.

Spock watched Uhura closely, getting to his feet and taking a few steps back. "Harrison comes with us."

"His name is Khan. And no, he's not." Eve bent down slightly, drawing the case from her boot. She waved it, then moved forward to offer it to Uhura. The darker skinned woman looked at it critically, but took it slowly. "That contains a vial of Khan's blood. Enough to bring Kirk back. You take it, and we go."

"Khan has killed-"

"So have you."

Spock's eyes narrowed, then widened. "Khan's crew -"

"Don't." Eve's voice shook, finger tightening on the trigger. "You don't get to speak about them."

She lowered the gun, moving forward and picking Khan up. He moved sluggishly, blood oozing down from his temple. She moved his arm around her shoulders and the speeder slowed, moving in towards its next pick up site. She raised the phaser again and Spock made to move, and he tilted his head slightly.

"Doctor Swan," he said coolly. "The man you attempt to save has committed now several act of terrorism against Starfleet. I cannot allow him to escape."

"Then Kirk dies, and she dies," Eve pointed the phaser directly at Uhura, still locking eyes with Spock. "There's been enough of that today. Go save your Captain – let the wounds bleed a while. Then try and come after us. Khan doesn't want all of Starfleet… he wants you."

She stepped back as the machine locked into the wall, stumbling into a small garden terrace. Spock took a step forward but Uhura stopped him. "Let them go. Let them go."

There was a moment when Eve thought her might lung at her, but he didn't.

At the last moment, Eve gasped. "Uhura!"

The other woman looked to her, clutching the person she loved as Eve did with Khan.

"The base where that ship was made – the co-ordinates Kirk was given. There's a biological weapon that needs to be destroyed."

The speeder moved back from the wall, and just before it whisked them away gold light began to spin around the pair. Uhura nodded to Eve grimly, and Eve lowered her phaser as they were dragged off once again.

Khan swayed as Eve moved them away quickly, keeping a tight hold as he came in and out of consciousness. She kept going until they were lost again amidst the insanity, and then she carried him over into an alley, lowering herself and him at a deliberate, gradual pace.

She let his head fall into her lap, leaning against the freezing concrete of the wall behind her and listening again to the cacophony of machines and people in frenzy. No one would notice them, not now. She stroked his hair back off his face, leaning down to kiss his brow. Somewhere overhead thunder cracked, storm moving in as if the world itself wished to give the city some reprieve from the fire spreading off the Vengeance.

Evelette took a deep breath, allowing herself finally to believe that they were for the moment safe. With a wry smile, she took one of the dangling strips of dress on her side and yanked it off, cleaning away the blood from Khan's face as she murmured to herself, "Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree; if mankind perished utterly. And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, would scarcely know that we were gone."