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Phil’s comm rings and he pulls it out of his pocket. “Hey, sweetheart.”
Silence on the other end. “Uh…hey, Phil. It’s Leonard McCoy.”
Phil’s cheeks burn. “Sorry, Len. I thought you were Chris.”
Leonard chuckles. “No worries. I was just wondering if we could talk about the proposal I’m presenting to Command next week. I can call back later if it’s not a good time.”
“No, I can chat. I’m just heading home now.” He passes an Andorian walking a pair of corgis as he heads up the walkway to his apartment complex. “Your pitch is about physical fitness requirements for medical personnel, right?”
“Yeah, especially ones serving long-term missions in space,” Leonard says. “Not that you’d have any experience with that.”
Phil smiles as he scans his ID to enter the building. “No, none at all.” He heads down the apartment hallway and then stops in front of his door. “Hang on a second.”
“Everything okay?”
“The front door’s open.” Phil peers through the crack and sees nothing out of place in the apartment. “I know I closed it when I left.”
“Do you need me to send security to your place?”
“No, it’s probably just Chris being spacey. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d forgotten something since we changed his meds,” Phil replies. “We’re in Fleet housing; it’s not like anyone could break in.”
Leonard hesitates. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I’ll check on him and call you back. Talk to you soon.” Phil hangs up and gently pushes open the door. “Chris? You forgot to close the door.” No response. He creeps inside and looks around but finds no sign of his husband. “Chris? Where are you?”
From the bedroom comes a muffled cry. “Chris!” Phil races across the living room, worried his husband could have fallen. He shoves open the bedroom door, already prepared to help Chris up and check him for scrapes.
But instead, he finds a stranger with his arm wrapped around his husband’s neck, holding him upright. Chris’ face is bruised and littered with small cuts, and one of his arms hangs awkwardly at his side. “Don’t come any closer,” the intruder growls. He has a phaser pressed to Chris’ side.
Phil sizes up Chris’ captor. He looks strong, but even if he weren’t, Chris wouldn’t have a chance of fighting him off. So Phil does the only thing he can do. He raises his hands in surrender. “Don’t shoot. I’m not armed.”
“Who are you?” the man demands.
“I’m-”
“He’s my doctor,” Chris interrupts. He flashes a desperate look at Phil.
“I didn’t ask you!” Chris winces as the phaser is jammed into his ribs. Phil flinches. “Who are you?”
“He’s telling the truth,” Phil insists, trying to follow Chris’ lead. He holds his left hand behind his back to hide his wedding ring. “I’m Dr. Philip Boyce and I work at Starfleet Medical. My badge is in my pocket; I can-”
“Do you think I’m stupid?!” the man shouts. “I know you’re not his doctor. I saw your picture all over his house.” His finger hovers over his phaser’s trigger and Phil’s heart jumps into his throat. “This is set to kill. So I’ll ask you one more time - who are you?”
“I’m his husband,” Phil squeaks. “Please don’t hurt him.”
“Your husband?” the intruder sneers. “You know what he did, right?”
“I - I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Phil’s heart pounds. “He hasn’t done anything.”
“Are you kidding me?” The man lets go of Chris’ neck. Chris collapses to his knees, almost landing flat on his face before his captor grabs the back of his collar. “Tell him what you did.”
Phil starts to protest again, but the words die on his lips when he sees the look on his husband’s face. He won’t meet Phil’s gaze. “Chris?”
“Tell him!” The man grabs a fistful of Chris’ hair and wrenches his head. He points the phaser at Phil. “Do it now, or I’ll kill him right now.”
Chris’ eyes shine with tears as he looks up at Phil. “Vulcan,” he chokes out. “I gave Earth's codes to Nero.”
Phil’s heart sinks with understanding. “That wasn’t his fault,” he protests.
“He was in command!” the man shouts, turning the phaser back on Chris. A tear streaks down Chris’ cheek. “People died! My wife and son died because of him!”
Phil feels a pang of sympathy despite the overwhelming fear for both Chris’ and his own safety. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” he says. “I can’t imagine-”
“Shut up!” The man shoves Chris onto the ground and he cries out in pain. Phil cringes as Chris’ face collides with the floor, then again as the man presses his foot into Chris’ back. He points his phaser at Phil and gestures to the far side of the bedroom. “Get against the wall.”
Phil crosses the room as quickly as humanly possible, still keeping his hands up. “Please don’t hurt us. We’ll do whatever you want, just let us go.”
“I want your husband to pay for what he did! He killed my family and what did Starfleet do? They gave him a promotion!”
“It didn’t happen like that,” Phil tries to explain. He scans the room for a weapon or anything he might be able to use to help, cursing himself for encouraging Chris to lock up the phaser he used to keep in his nightstand. “You don’t understand-”
“No, Doctor, you’re the one who doesn’t understand. I’m going to kill your husband. And you’re going to watch.”
Icy fear floods Phil’s veins. “Please-”
“Shut up.” The man grabs Chris by his injured arm, causing him to cry out in pain, and pulls him upright. He forces Chris into as close of a kneeling position as his paralyzed legs can manage, keeping the phaser trained on him the whole time. “Say goodbye, Admiral Pike,” he says as he presses the barrel of the weapon to the back of Chris’ neck.
“Wait,” Phil blurts out. “Kill me instead.”
“What?”
“If you want to hurt him, kill me and let him live,” Phil says. His voice shakes, but he forces himself to look the man in the eyes. “I’m his husband, and he’s the reason your wife died. It’s only fair.”
“Phil, no!” Chris tries to turn to his captor and almost falls, but the man grabs his collar again and holds him tightly. “Don’t listen to him. He has nothing to do with any of this. Just let him go, please.”
“Stop talking,” the man interjects. He shakes his head. “You’re trying to trick me.”
“He killed your family,” Phil presses. He sees a flash of pain in Chris’ eyes and he hates himself for it, but he continues. It’s the only way he can save Chris’ life. “Don’t you want him to know how you feel?”
The phaser trained on Chris wavers just a bit. “No,” the man says. “No, you’re his husband. You just want to save him.”
Phil’s heart is hammering so hard that his head hurts. “I’m not. I promise.”
“No. No one else is going to die for him. I want him to take responsibility for what he did.” The man grips his phaser tighter and raises it to Chris’ neck again. “Any last words?”
Chris raises his tearful gaze to Phil. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I love you. Don’t look.”
Phil closes his eyes. A second later, a phaser discharges. A body hits the floor.
A sob escapes Phil’s lips as he falls to his knees. Chris, his husband, the love of his life, is gone. He’ll never get to make breakfast for the two of them. Never take him to the beach again. Never get to watch Chris ride or give a speech or pilot or-
“Phil.” The voice belongs to a man he doesn’t recognize. “Hey, it’s okay.” Someone puts a hand on Phil’s arm and he doesn’t have the energy to struggle. “Look at me, Phil.”
Phil raises his head. The silhouette in front of him is vaguely familiar, but he doesn't recognize it until he blinks away tears. “Jim?”
“Yeah, it’s Jim.” Phil can see the phaser rifle strapped to Jim's back. “Are you hurt?”
Phil shakes his head and shoves Jim away. “Jim, it’s Chris, you have to help him-” The words die in his throat as he sees Chris, looking dazed but very much alive, lifting his head. Leonard, medkit in hand, kneels down to help Chris sit up. On the floor is the crumpled, unmoving body of their captor. “What…?”
“I’ve got you, Phil,” Jim says. “You’re both safe now.”