Chapter VI- A Day in the Life
Rating: M
Characters: Adama/Roslin (pairing) and various others
Spoilers Up to Revelations. We do not know any other spoilers.
Disclaimer: We own nothing to do with the show and are making no profit.
Warnings: None.
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
Chapter VI: A Day in the Life
05.55
It was raining. Of course it was raining. It was cold too: bitter, stinging cold. Jack Cottle marched through the sleeping settlement. The place was eerily silent, only the slow whistling of the wind broke the deathly quiet. He loved this time… these hours where everything was peaceful and calm. In a few hours screaming children, cries of pain, beeping of monitors, the rustling of paper, the scratching of pens, the complaints, the list of aliments, the wailing of relatives and the moans of hypochondriacs would assault his ears. The ruckus of noise would bombard him until the lights went out, the patients went to sleep and around midnight the doctor would step outside for a cigarette and stare at the stars… then and only then would be find his own peace. Briefly.
The Rounds were the worst, walking all over the planet seeing to house bound patients… and those too godsdamn lazy to come to the surgery. And those who were too ill to move dragged themselves in like frakking martyrs and then complained when they suffered from the elements. This morning he had been called out for Natashi who was certain ‘the infants were preparing for birth.’ Only they weren’t: false contractions. Natashi had called it, ‘Curiously misleading’, Saul had called it, ‘A frakking pain in the backside’ and Jack had opted to agree with both.
“Morning Doc.”
Jack glanced up, watching in bemusement as D’Anna and her Six friend Lana, jogged past, “You’re up early.”
D’Anna called back, “Gotta work on the bod, no resurrection anymore - I’ve gotta look after this model!”
Jack chuckled and continued on his way. After about five minutes he came to the ocean and walked along the shore line, watching the boats bob on the water.
“Hi sir,” a familiar blonde lad called and waved. Jack remembered patching him and his mother up after an accident aboard the refinery.
The boy was happily piling his boat load of fishes into buckets, despite the rain he was smiling brightly, his little fingers effortlessly working the knots on the nets.
“My dad got one heck of a catch!”
Jack grumbled and nodded at the young lad, “How can you be so flaming cheerful at six in the morning?”
The boy smiled and shrugged, “You want some?” he pointed to the fish.
“I want an apprentice, a fully sterilised clinic, a retirement plan and a lifetime supply of nicotine.”
Chuckling, the boy bagged up a fish and handed it over, “I just have fish. You can have it for free.”
Jack accepted with a nod, “Get outta those wet boots, you’ll get foot rot.”
“Yes sir!”
Seeing the clinic in the distance Jack pulled a face at the bright orange colour. He entered the clinic quietly; all his stay-in patients were still asleep. All the lights were dimmed except for the nurse’s station and his office which glowed in the darkness. His night nurses - a young man called Isaac and a middle-aged woman called Serra were walking around the ward doing the hourly checks. When Serra saw Jack she made a beeline towards him, making the doctor inwardly groan.
“Doctor Cottle, I hope all went well.”
“No baby, babies … nothing, nada, zip.”
Dumping a pile of charts in his arms the tall brunette prattled on, “All meds have been distributed…” her voice became a background drone and Jack was glad the woman only did the night shift; he couldn’t tolerate her during the day when he was required to be completely awake…
“…and what the hell is that thing doing in here?”
Jack glanced down, registering the dead fish in his hand, deadpan he replied, “I think it’s too late for this one.”
***
07.30
After checking on his patients personally: going through young Joe Quaid’s file carefully and making sure Lee Adama was still dopped up, Jack stopped by the private side room William Adama was in.
The Admiral was still asleep, no doubt still feeling the effects of the pain meds. He was lying on his side, his hand splayed out over the empty space to his left… no doubt searching for Laura in his sleep.
“Laura…” Bill’s low whisper of her name answered that question. Bill frowned deeply, his breathing becoming accelerated and thready, his eyes rapidly moving beneath his eye lids. In alarm Jack’s eyes darted to the heart monitor to see the lines spike harshly - whatever was happening in Bill’s dream was having a tremendous impact on his body.
Jack hurried over to the bed and steadied his patient, who had started to thrash and call for his wife. Suddenly Bill jolted forwards, the word ‘No’ whispered forlornly into the air.
“Easy Bill, you’re in hospital. Laura’s ok,” he added quickly, knowing Bill would value Laura’s safety higher than his own.
Bill quickly realised what had happened and the panic rapidly dissipated, his heart rate slowing to normal.
“That must have been one hell of a dream,” Jack stated, easing Bill back down onto the bed.
“I don’t dream,” Bill replied quickly.
The doctor frowned: he knew that when woken during REM sleep the sleeper was usually left with awareness of their dreams, and from the haunted look in the Old Man’s eyes, Jack knew he was lying. Bill remembered, and whatever he remembered scared the hell out of him.
“Well you called for Laura. It’s only seven thirty so the red haired vixen won’t be around here causing chaos for at least another five hours. Until then you will have to make do with Serra’s charms. I assume you were calling for a cup of coffee right?”
Bill stared at him.
“You know - when you were crying out for her in a panic…” Jack added dryly - pushing.
Bill’s gaze turned to stone - he wasn’t giving anything away.
“Fine, if that’s how you want to play it. Suffer in silence, but if you want something to help you sleep let me know.”
“It’s nothing.”
Absently Bill scratched at the scar on his chest, “How’s Lee?”
“Getting there, I’ll want him here for a few more days, but he is healing up nicely. A whole lot less trouble than you, I’ll give him that. Reminds me a bit of his stepmother, buried in work, acting like the world will end if he isn’t in the Colonial Hall.”
Bill snorted.
“He’s young, he will bounce back. You, on the other hand are old and flop over rather than bounce. Don’t dive into anymore fights. Hercules you aren’t.”
“I was protecting my son!”
“Hmmmm,” Cottle rumbled, “I don’t care, who, what, where and why. I’m just getting bored of patching either you or the Mrs up. You two take turns or something?”
“Trust me, Jack. I would rather Laura and I never stepped foot in here again.”
“There you go, hurting my feelings.”
8.00
Jack stepped out of the ward and checking his watch, made his way to the reception to start seeing the patients with appointments. What he saw looked like a low budget hospital soap opera. The waiting room was full: brimming.
Inwardly he grumbled: why the frak couldn’t they go to the other clinic near the centre of the settlement? Or see one of the other doctors that were currently doing frak all? Even if he tried to bunk half of these off onto the nurses he would still be working flat out all morning.
His receptionist, a young blonde no older than eighteen with her hair in bunches, grinned brightly at him. Her laughing blue eyes saying it all: you are so frakked.
With a resigned tone in his voice he husked, “Number 1.”
A woman stood up quickly, clutching a coughing and spluttering child to her chest, phlegm and mucus running down his chin. “I think he has the scarlet fever,” she wailed.
A condition that hadn’t been heard of in over three hundred Caprican years.
It was going to be a long day.
12.00
Jack marched into his office, slamming the door firmly shut behind him. He flopped down heavily into his chair and sighed. It had been a long and hectic morning so far; seemingly everyone required his attention today. Since the building had begun there had been a never ending influx of minor injuries such as cuts and broken fingers.
He kicked back in his chair, lifting his legs and placing his feet on the edge of his desk. Reaching into the top pocket of his white overcoat he pulled out a crumpled packet of cigarettes and lit one. Jack took a long a long drag before placing it in a kidney dish, already full to the brim with the butts of cigarettes. He was thumbing through endless patient notes when something caught his eye on the surveillance camera monitor (which had been installed to make his job easier.) He leaned over and turned up the volume to pick up the sound from that particular camera - the one in William Adama’s room.
“What you reading Mister?” the little boy asked Bill Adama as he scrambled up and onto the end of Bill's hospital bed.
Bill regarded the boy for a moment. He couldn't be more than five or six, Bill thought. The child’s face was very pale and drawn, making his big brown eyes stand out more.
“I am reading The Caprica file,” Bill finally answered the boy’s question smiling. “It's about a detective.”
“ 'tective?” the little boy questioned. “What is a 'tective?”
Bill chuckled and closed the book, using his thumb to mark his page. “Well before I tell you and since you are sitting on my bed asking me lots of questions, I think I should know your name.”
“My name is Joseph, but I only called that when someone is cross with me,” he mused.
Bill smirked, he knew very well what the little boy was talking about; he was only ever called William when his mother or father were angry with him. “So as I am not cross with you Joseph, what do I call you?”
“Joe,” the boy crossed his legs and grinned at Bill. “If I’m not cross with you either, what would I call you Mister?”
“Bill,” he held out his hand to the little boy, his huge hand gripping Joe's tiny one and shaking it gently as if he would break. “Nice to meet you Joe.”
“Nice to meet you too Mister Bill.” Joe gave Bill a toothy grin and pointed at the book, “What is a 'tective, will you tell me now you know my name?”
Bill nodded and proceeded to fill Joe in on everything about the world of undercover detecting. The boy sat riveted to his spot on the bed, his elbow resting on his knee and his chin in his hand. Patiently Bill answered all his questions, and in great detail, trying his best to put things into a language a little boy might understand.
“Wow!” Joe gasped. “The Galactica is your ship Mister Bill?”
“It most certainly is,” Bill told the little boy.
“Can you fly the little ships?” Joe carried on with his endless barrage of questions.
Bill really didn't mind, in fact he was quite taken with his new friend, he reminded him of Lee when he was a little boy. “You mean the Vipers and Raptors? Yes I can fly those too.”
“Will you take me in one?” Joe asked. “I want to be a flyer when I grow up.”
Joe continued to tell Bill that he was going fly the little ships and be the best flyer in the universe.
13.00
A knock on his office door made Cottle start: knocking the kidney dish full of cigarettes off his desk and onto the floor. “Frak me,” he cursed and leant over to turn the volume off the monitor.
“Sorry Jack, didn't mean to make you jump.” Laura poked her head around the door. “What is so interesting on that screen anyway? You were absolutely engrossed in it.”
Jack motioned for her to come in and pointed to the screen adjusting the sound again so she could hear it as well. “Was watching this. Wouldya look at Bill? Never would have thought I'd see the day.”
Laura smiled as she heard Bill and the little boy chatting happily away, “How long have they been talking?”
“A good hour,” Cottle replied, lighting a cigarette.
“Who is the little boy?” Laura gestured to the screen.
“That is Joseph Quaid.”
“Care to elaborate on that a bit Jack?” Laura sighed, wafting his cigarette smoke from her face.
Jack nodded, “If ya like.” He stubbed out his smoke and continued. “He is only just five years old, one of the first born after the attacks. He has a sister who’s 12 years old.....”
“Parents?” Laura butted in.
“I was just getting to that, dear gods woman, have you no patience at all?” he grumbled. “His parents are both dead. Killed in the exodus off of New Caprica, him and his sister were lucky. They are being looked after by volunteers.”
“So what's wrong with him?” Laura asked after Jack had finished talking.
“His heart, I can't operate, and he needs a transplant to have any chance of surviving the month.” Cottle told her bluntly.
Laura grimaced at his bluntness, “Should he not be in bed then? Not over doing it or getting excited?”
“I figured he could use something to take his mind off his illness for a while, the mind is a wonderful thing, one hour with Bill and not thinking about being ill and he looks better, he replied, lighting yet another cigarette.
***
Laura walked out of Jack’s office and headed for the area Bill was occupying. When she drew close she paused, he couldn't see her, she was hidden by a partially drawn curtain.
“Don't you get people come to see you Mister Bill?” Joe asked.
“Not many, no. My son Lee is over there,” Bill pointed to the bed a little distance away from them, “but he is sleeping. My wife Laura should be here soon.”
“Is she pretty?”
Bill laughed quietly at that question and out of the corner of his eye caught sight of Laura hiding behind the curtain but didn't acknowledge her presence, “She is very pretty.”
“I'd like to meet her too Mister Bill. Can I meet her?”
“You could, if she would come out from behind that curtain.” Bill laughed as he saw the curtain twitch and a Laura appeared.
Joe sat quietly now, waiting for Bill to introduce his wife to him. He watched as Laura kissed Bill on the cheek and squeezed his hand gently.
“Hey,” Bill greeted her.
“Hello,” Laura replied smiling and then looking over at Joe. “And who might this young man be?”
“This is Joseph....Joe.” Bill told her, correcting himself over the little boy’s name.
“Hello Joe, I'm Laura,” she held out her hand to him. “Bill's wife.”
Joe smiled and looked at Bill, “She is pretty, Mister Bill.”
This caused a blush to rise in Laura's face and gave Bill something to chuckle about. Laura had sat herself on the chair next to the bed and was given the same barrage of questions Bill had been given previously. Joe questioned and Laura answered as Bill lay there and listened quietly. Cottle watched all three from the monitor in his office and decided it was time for Joe to return to his own bed.
Jack left his office, and made his way over to Bill, Laura and Joe. He stopped along the way to check on other patients, flipping over their charts and looking at the bleeping monitors. The rooms were mixed, male, female, human and cylon. All together, no discrimination, and Cottle liked it like that. It made his life easier to have everyone treated the same.
As he approached Bill's room Joe looked up and slipped off the bed. “Time you went back to your own bed now young man,” Cottle told the boy gently without his usual gruff tone. “Say your goodbyes.” Laura wondered if he reserved that for her alone and she chuckled to herself.
“Yes Doctor Cottle,” Joe answered and then moved towards Laura and kissed her on the cheek before he scrambled back up onto the bed and kissed Bill's. Both of them a little taken aback by the little boy’s action and glanced at each other.
“Come back tomorrow.” Bill called after Joe as Cottle lead him away. “I'll read you some of the story.”
“Ok Mister Bill,” Joe called back.
Laura stood and moved to sit next to Bill on the bed. Leaning in she kissed him properly, his hand coming up to cup her face, holding her lips to his.
“Didn't think that kind of greeting was appropriate in front of Joe.” Laura whispered against his ear before pulling away.
“It was worth the wait though,” Bill grinned at her.
17.00
“He sleeping now?” Cottle called out to Laura as she walked past his office on her way out.
She stopped and lent against the door frame, “Yes. I think Joe and I tired him out.” She chuckled.
Cottle nodded, “He hasn't been sleeping to well. When I checked on him this morning he awoke with a start, in a cold sweat.”
Laura raised her eyebrow, “Oh?”
“Apparently though your man doesn't dream, so it must have been the sight of my face on his awakening.” Cottle smirked as Laura burst out laughing.
“I noticed recently. Well at least before he ended up in here, that he wasn't sleeping all that well,” Laura told Jack as her laughter subsided.
“And how have you been sleeping young lady?” He questioned.
“Not to bad. Have slept better.”
Cottle nodded towards the monitor, which was still focused on Bill, “Probably missing him.”
Laura smiled at Jack’s uncharacteristic sentimentality, “See you later Jack.”
As she turned around she was almost bowled over by a rush of people and a screaming man on a stretcher. It was one of the Leobens. His shirt blood soaked and some sort of metallic object protruding from his shoulder. Doc Cottle heard the commotion and launched out of his office, barking orders to his team of medics, “GET HIM INTO SURGERY.”
Laura watched as they all disappeared around a corner and into the operating theatre. One man stood outside, not a cylon: a human. She walked up to him slowly, “What happened?” She asked the man, her tone gentle.
The man looked up from where he had been staring at his hands, “It was my fault. I didn't secure it properly.....” he trailed off.
“Didn't secure what?” Laura probed the man for information.
“The ladder. It slipped and he fell, landing in some debris.”
“Then it was an accident, and he is very capable hands in there with Doctor Cottle.” Laura reached out and patted the man’s arm.
He nodded and walked away from her, his hands firmly in his pockets and his gaze directed at the floor. Laura noted that perhaps human and cylon relationships had taken a turn for the better. This man was obviously upset that he was indirectly responsible for the Leoben's fall. Gradually the wall between human and cylon was breaking down.
Laura leaned against the surgery door for a moment and watched the events taking place inside the room through a small gap. Cottle was calmly operating on the Leoben; a rush of nurses around him. Jack had removed the object for the cylons shoulder; it was quite a large piece of scrap metal. Pretty lucky it didn't go straight through his heart, Laura thought. She watched for about 10 minutes more as Cottle appeared to have stopped the bleeding and was patching him up, before heading to see if Bill had woken up yet.
20.00
“I think we have him all patched up as good as new, I will leave you to clean up and put him into a bed. I have rounds to do,” Cottle said gruffly to Ishnay as he stripped his hands of the bloody surgical gloves and threw them in the trash. There just wasn’t enough time in the godsdamn day. He would be lucky if he was in bed before the new day began.
He left the room in a hurry and headed for his office to collect up his things, almost sending D'Anna Biers flying in his rush. She was leaning against the surgery doors, her arms folded.
“Hey Doc, where’s the fire?” D’Anna said.
“Sorry,” Jack apologised. “I guess you’re here for him,” he pointed towards the operating theatre. “Leoben is gonna be fine, you can visit tomorrow,” he told her and hurried on towards his office, not giving her a second thought.
Marching into his office he quickly lit a cigarette and sighed a breath of relief at the relaxing sensation. Collecting his papers, Jack glanced at the monitor just in time to see Laura yawn and sneak up onto the bed next to Bill. She nuzzled up against him, wrapped her arm around him and closed her eyes. He smiled to himself as Bill moved his head ever so slightly and place a kiss against her temple.
Grabbing his list of visits, he flicked the monitor off and left the office.
20.20
Medical bag in hand, Jack Cottle quickly marched out of the clinic. The ground of ash, dirt and sand crunched as he walked; the gentle trudging of his feet, and the harshness of his laboured breathing became the only thing he could hear. Somewhere in the distance the crash and rolling of waves could be heard faintly. It was dark; the night lights marked the path to the centre of the settlement and intermittently offered a dim orange glow to light the way. He hadn’t walked for more than a couple of minutes when he heard footsteps accompany his, a more gentle step - lighter and rhythmic.
He sighed and slowed his step, letting the person catch up.
“You’re like a bad cubit.”
“Excuse me?” D’Anna asked confused as she fell into step with him.
“You always turn up.”
“Ah!” She chuckled, “I hadn’t heard that before.”
“Live and learn,” he replied.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Talk and walk, I’m busy,” Jack said, quickening his pace.
“I saw how you treated my brother. Despite it all, there aren’t many doctors who will help out a cylon you know, even now. I always appreciated that about you Doc. You were different, even back on New Caprica.”
“Are you going somewhere with this, or are you hitting on a man twice your age?”
D’Anna laughed but her eyes held a strange softness, “Out of all of them, you made sense, it seemed right. Fitting.”
She stopped and grabbed his hand, clutching his warm, large hand in her small cold one, “I waited… you were the most important - the one in the centre.”
Stepping closer she spoke softly - reverently - “You’re the fifth. The fifth cylon.” The words bubbled out of her in nervous excitement, her ultimate and most treasured secret was revealed. She was prepared for his hurt, confusion and even anger. She was prepared for a breakdown. She was even prepared for possible happiness and exhilaration, like Tory felt. She smiled reassuringly at him and squeezed his hand.
The bright smile on her face gradually faded as she saw no response on his. He merely stared back, his face expressionless. After a moment Jack leaned towards D’Anna and said in a melodramatic whisper, “I know.”
For a long second D’Anna stared at the doctor, blinking rapidly. Of all things, she wasn’t prepared for that. How could this be? Reality as she knew it was unravelling around her. Her heart thudding painfully she croaked, “You know…?”
Lighting a cigarette, Jack merely nodded. He looked totally serene while she was falling apart. “Since when?” D’Anna demanded, almost hysterically.
“Since the start.”
“The start…” she gasped.
“Yeah, the start, you want me to write this down?”
The joke fell on deaf ears as D’Anna, still frozen in shock merely stared at the man.
“Look, is that all? I’m busy ya know.”
“You were always aware?”
Nodding, Jack blew out a stream of smoke.
“Always?”
“From before you were even a twinkle in your creator’s eye.”
“What… how…” she started, but couldn’t finish. A multitude of questions bounced around in her mechanical brain, eventually she settled with the one question that concerned every sentient life form: “Why are we here?” Surely he could answer that - he was aware of everything, of who he was… where he came from. He was closer to God than any of them.
“Depends who ya ask.” He said flippantly, with a smirk.
“I’m asking you!” she said almost desperately.
“Let me explain something to ya. I work hard to keep everyone alive long enough to answer that question themselves.”
“But - no-one can answer it, not even at the end!”
“Says who? You?
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said in a long time. You’ve been waltzing around this place like you know every damn thing about everything and everyone. It will lead you into trouble lady, I’ve warned you before.”
“I just want what’s best for us… what’s best for our people. The cylons.”
The doctor’s expression twisted into exasperation and he spoke almost to himself, “They never frakking learn.” He turned his attention to her, his voice now hard, an angry tone around the edges, “Now, you listen here, you wanna know the meaning of life? It isn’t in segregation. You mess this alliance up and you can kiss your mortal ass goodbye.”
“Is that a threat?”
“I save lives, I don’t take them. But I’m telling you, you are going fast in the wrong damn direction.”
D’Anna looked entirely baffled and deflated, her master plan - all her hopes and dreams evaporating right before her, “But…” she tried one last time, “you’re one of us. I thought…”
“You thought you would unite the five and together we would take over the universe and maybe make you an honorary sixth?”
“I didn’t imagine this.”
“I bet ya didn’t.”
“We have a job to do, we need to unite…”
Jack chuckled, “I have one job, and I’m still in the middle of it.”
D’Anna frowned, “The final five will lead us to the promised land. That’s over, we are here.”
“Are we?”
“This is the promised land.”
“Is it?”
“This is EARTH!” She almost yelled, frustrated, tears rapidly collecting in her eyes.
“You are right, this is Earth.”
“You’re talking in riddles!”
Breathing in heavily Jack sighed, “I’m not, you need to start listening lady.”
Expelling a cloud of thick smoke, Jack gave her a wry smile, flicked his cigarette into the darkness and started to walk away.
Her eyes widened, “You can’t just walk away from this. This changes everything!”
He didn’t pause, didn’t even acknowledge her words.
Desperate and shaken D’Anna changed track and yelled after him, “I’ll tell everyone…”
“Go ahead,” he called back, offering a sharp wave before the darkness of the night swallowed him. Leaving D’Anna teary eyed, confused and devastated.
For the first time, standing alone in the dark, the universe didn’t make any sense to her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt powerless and scared.
Whatever side the 5th was on - it wasn’t hers.
AN: We hope you enjoyed this and would love to know what you thought.
Next time: The next chapter will be solely focused on AR and it will carry the M rating.