Do No Harm--Battlestar Galactica, Layne Ishay

[brennanspeaks]

Title: Do No Harm
Author: brennanspeaksFandom: Battlestar Galactica

Comments

[lls_mutant]

Oh, this broke my heart. I LOVE it. I wish they'd done more with Ishay, because her loyalties seemed conflicted. This was fantastic. I almost cried when the petty officer died, which given that she was a OC without so much as a name... you really brought home the humanity of the situation.

And Ishay offering Felix a painless way out.... ::Sigh:: Is death by firing squad really painful? I assumed that it was generally fairly instant.

Nobody said it, but at that moment Doc Cottle commanded more respect than Gaeta, Zarek, and both Adamas combined.

Heee. doesn't he always? :) I love that.

Cottle lit a cigarette while muttering inaudibly about the injustices of the universe and the frakwits who try to fix them.

This is such a perfect line, and sums up just how right and how wrong both sides were in a matter of words. It's so fitting you gave it to Cottle, who can do that any time.

Excellent, excellent fic!!!!!

[brennanspeaks]

Thanks for the great review! I had fun (if you can call writing medical angst "fun") writing Ishay since she's one of those blank slates the BSG-verse is always throwing at us. Cottle, though . . . I could write him for the rest of my life and die a happy woman.

As far as the firing squad, you're more or less correct; multiple bullets would hit either the heart or a major blood vessel, and they'd bleed out in a few seconds. Ishay's interior monologue reflects her state of mind more than sober medical judgment. I intended the repetition as a sign that the overloaded sick bay was getting to her; it's hard to think objectively when you're surrounded by so much suffering, so she just . . . acted.

[rebelliousrose]

See, I was thinking that she was tending to his pain, more than his "pain" in you will. Pain management of a different sort, with a heavy dose of guilt and compassion. I read it as she was feeling like if they had paid more attention to his pain, none of this would have happened.

[brennanspeaks]

There's definitely an element of regret that I tried to bring out. He was her patient and (in my fanon, at least) her friend, and yet she's confronted by so many people who've been hurt by his actions. At the same time, she's essentially mourning him before he's dead. I think it's natural for her to wonder "how did this happen? what could I have done to help him?" but she knows it's too late. She just wants to spare him from anything worse.

. . .

Someday, maybe I'll write something fluffy and fun just to see what it's like . . .

Thanks for reading and for the thoughtful comment!

[rose_griffes]

This was fabulous. Interestingly enough, I was just thinking the other day that Cottle had to have enforced a no-gun rule in sickbay, so it's cool to see that pop up here.

I like how you addressed Ishay's torn loyalties. Nicely done!

[brennanspeaks]

Thanks for the great review! I'm glad you liked this.

[vegablack62]

I've never seen this show, but the story you tell is so strong and the characters well drawn this read beautifully without knowing the canon. Lovely story well told.

[brennanspeaks]

Thank you! I'm glad this fic was accessible. Ishay is one of the more underdeveloped characters of BSG, but I enjoyed trying to get inside her head.

[brennanspeaks]

Thanks for the wonderful review! That "what have you done" moment was actually the starting point for this fic, so I'm glad it came through in the final product. I'm in a very similar situation of understanding the ideology of why Gaeta did what he did and sympathizing with him and yet being appalled at the consequences. I was pretty appalled at both sides during the mutiny, come to think of it.

[prophetkristy]

I love that Cottle gets the most respect! Don't mess with the Doc, srsly.

...wow. This is so immediate and detailed. There's horror, but I can also feel Ishay's numbness.

And I was not expecting to see Felix in this. *clings to you and sobs*

Amazing work!!