Challenge 001: Pegasus Pilots- Hold On (T)
Title: Hold On
Challenge: For the_applecart Challenge 001- Pegasus Pilots
Fandom: BSG- Kara & Lee
Rating: T
Words:1443
*I’ve never done this type of thing before with a prompt. I never written any BSG but I loved the prompt Kara is Commander and Lee is her CAG. I’m posting this before I lose my nerve.*'
Lee felt like the breath had been knocked out of him the moment Kara reveled that she is ordering a rescue mission to Caprica. He should have expected as soon as his father made her Commander of the Pegasus.
"I’m sorry Commander Thrace you want me to do what?”
Lee glanced behind Kara to catch the eye of Major Shaw who was staring at him with an all too knowing look. When he’d enter Kara’s quarters for a meeting he couldn’t understand why the Cain legacy was there. Now he did, she’s serving as a buffer between Kara and him.
Kara continued from where she had left off seconds ago, knowing very well that Lee had heard her.
“The rescue mission to Caprica will be a inter-atmosphere jump, we are gonna be taking heavy fire-“
Like Hades he was going to keep silent.
“Are you fraking crazy?”
Kara pressed on.
“Sharon will be able to jump us two clicks -“
“You want to use a Cylon to jump us back behind enemy lines?”
Kara stood up from the couch and approached Lee while Kendra Shaw shadowed Kara’s movements. In a steal voice
Kara declared, “It’s our duty to the people we left behind. If we have to use a Cylon so be it.”
Lee stood there defiantly while silently imploring Kara with his eyes to give up this crazy mission.
“Have you even ran simulations for this suicide mission?”
Major Shaw stepped in front of Kara into Lee’s space before she threatening reminded him that, “Questioning orders on this ship is a bad idea.”
Lee wasn’t about to back down.
“Because a good solider executes orders without question. Killed any civilians lately, Major Shaw?”
“Hey, hey, act like officers gods damn it.”
“With all due respect sirs, no one has ever attempted a rescue mission from this distance much less from enemy lines.”
“You heard the mission Lt. Adama. You’re dismissed.”
Lee stood there staring at Kara in disbelief as she dismissed him like he was just another one of her subordinates instead of her closest friend. It was in that moment with Kara proudly standing in the Commander’s quarters, light glimmering off the rank insignia of a Colonial Commander that he realized that Kara’s not his friend anymore she’s the Commander.
“Right . . . right.”
Lee stands at attention and salutes before storming out.
***
Lee’s in the Ready Room watching footage of his pilots trying to better gage their strengths and weakness’ when Kara finds him. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in days. Lee doesn’t bother to stand at attention. Kara doesn’t comment on the breach of protocol. She tosses a small velvet box into Lee’s lap and sits down next to him. Neither bothers to look at each other. Lee slowly opens the box to find the rank insignia for a Colonial Captain.
“I hear that you went over my head to the Admiral on the rescue mission.”
Lee doesn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry that he didn’t make you Commander.”
“What?”
“Isn’t what this,” Kara used her finger to motion between the two of them, “is about?”
Lee let out a pained laugh as he wished that was the problem. When his father told him that he was making Kara Commander over Lee, Lee’s pride was hurt but he got over it . . . mostly.
“That’s not it.”
Kara was at a loss.
“Frak, what your problem then?”
He was the one that was supposed to be upset. He was the one that had cause to be upset. He was not the one that kept on fraking everything up.
“What’s my problem? . . . What’s my problem? My problem is you Kara.”
He thought that they could be friends. She had to bring up feelings long ago tucked away. He missed her when she fraking jumped back to the planet they used to call home. She was busy fraking some jock. He finally got the courage to tell her that he loved her. She laughed it off. He thought that he had another chance. She told him that there was nothing between them. He is still in love with her. She is having him go on a suicidal mission to rescue that fraker.
“Here we go. Finally.”
“You are having me risk my life for some guy that you fraked!”
Lee’s comment gave Kara pause. For a moment he thought that he had revealed too much.
“And if he was Zach?”
Kara’s reminder that his little brother had with her what he was never going to have just pissed him off more. Lee reacted viciously.
“He can’t be Zach because you killed him.”
Out of the corner of Lee’s eye he saw Kara visibly flinch at the comment. He saw her bite down on her lip and her eyes fill with guilt and self-loathing. As much as he wanted to hurt her as much as she hurt him, he regretted the words before they came out of his mouth but pride wouldn’t let him take them back.
They just sat there in the dark watching footage of the pilots. Explosion after explosion played out in front of them.
Kara finally voiced out loud a realization that she came to the night after the Colonial Day Celebrations.
“You won’t ever be the guy that I frak will you?”
As Lee watched Nacho shoot down a raider he realized that the question was really a statement of truth. Kara and he were never going to be a we or an us or a them.
The “yes” got caught in this throat. It wouldn’t come out of his mouth.
“This is all we’ll ever be. . . The Commander and her hot-shot CAG.”
“Hot-shot?” Questioned Kara with a laugh.
“Hot-shot.”
A small smile and a far away looked flash across her face before in a whisper of a voice said, “Maybe.”
Kara cleared her throat.
“The Admiral designated the rescue mission Two-Alpha. This is mission is volunteer only. I can’t order you do this mission. Just think about it, ok?”
Lee just nodded his head.
Kara’s hand reached underneath her double tanks to pull out her single dog tag.
“I need to do this Lee. I made a promise.”
Lee didn’t know if it was the desperation in her voice or the way she clutched her single dog tag like a lifeline that made his resolve start to crumble. After all is said and done he is her friend.
He took one more look at his returned rank insignia before giving her the answer she wants.
“I’ll do it Kara.”
Kara just gave him a tight smile and left him with his thoughts and footage.
* * *
Lee slowly made his way into Kara’s quarters to report before he left on the rescue mission. She was busy eating noodles and reading reports when he entered.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
An awkward silence filled the room.
Lee knew that he should let her be the first to speak but as the seconds ticked on by he couldn’t stand the silence.
“It’s a good plan . . . a good plan. Sharon should be able to jump us a couple of clicks above the surface-”
“Down below the Cylon dradis” interrupted Kara. “I know the plan Lee. I wrote it.”
Lee kept glancing at the floor, the ceiling, the lamp to Kara’s right anywhere but at her although he could feel her eyes on him.
“I got to go.”
Lee started to turn away from Kara when he heard her.
“I wish I was going with you.”
He paused in his tracks and looked over his shoulder to see a longing look fixed on him. Lee wasn’t sure what that look meant.
“I’ll bring him back to you Kara.”
“I hope so.” The tight smile once again appeared fixed on Kara’s face.
Lee continued to make his way out when the sound of Kara’s voice stopped him once again.
“Lee?”
He turns to face her again. Lee looks expectantly at her.
Lee wants her to tell him to be careful out there but she won’t. It wasn’t their job to be careful. It was to kill fraking Cylons.
The mask that she has worn since assuming command crumbles and she looks like she wants to say something but the moment passes and the mask reappears.
“Good hunting.”
Lee grimaces.
“Thank you, sir.”
As he closed the door to her quarters he felt like he was closing the door on any chance of something happening with them but maybe just maybe there will be a chance. Maybe even on a new planet?