He came down, of course. There were certain parts of him that had wanted to come down here for a while now, and then there was the most logical part of his mind that said he should have kept as far away as possible, for his own good--one little incident had sparked off so much turmoil in his life. To do the same thing, and not expect expect the same result sounded a bit like insanity, though he was far from ignorant of Pike's capabilities now.

Ignoring Jim on the way through the hallway into the brig was perhaps easier than it should have been. He walked past two security guards and one force-field barrier, and then towards Pike's cell--this time three security guards, instead of two. So, Jim really thought he was that dangerous.

"Sir," One of the three spoke up. "You can't be down here--"

"I am the First Officer of this ship. Security is one of my primary concerns."

"Really, sir," The second. "You need--"

"I need for the three of you to leave, so that I may fulfill my duties."

The third was about to say something, but Spock silenced him with a look, and the three security guards reluctantly left the corridor, letting him deal with the prisoner alone.

He stepped up to the doorway, until he could almost feel the tingle of the invisible force-field against his skin, and looked inside. Calm on the outside, suffocating his various, conflicting instincts with each passing second.

"Sir."