fic: Five Times Kara and Sam Kissed... (BSG), PG
Disclaimer: so not mine
Rating: PG, swearing, violence and references to suicide and the forced impregnation of women.
Length: 2400+
Pairing: Kara/Sam, slight reference to Sharon/Helo.
Set: during Resistance/The Farm and Lay Down Your Burdens
Genre: romance? angst?
Notes: This fic was started a really long time ago, and initially had the provisional title of "Five Battlefields Kara and Sam Kissed On", but it ended up not being that fic, as even while I was writing it (on paper), it changed to something else. I got the first part of this written, most of the second, and then cleaned the area around my desk. And suddenly, parts three, four and five couldn't be found, as the bundle of paper that got shoved into another bundle was very difficult to find. But I was going through stuff today, and ran across the sheets with 2-5 on them, and went "HEY, I KNOW WHAT THIS IS. OMG."
I believe I once posted the first part in the comments, somewhere, as a stand-alone ficlet. (now I'm going to shut up before the notes end up longer than the fic)
Five Times Kara and Sam Kissed Before Landing on Galactica
by ALC Punk!
1. Caprica, resistance hide-out
They were acting like idiots, everyone drunk from too much of Rally's rotgut. Sam Anders had seen his people like this before, so he wasn't too surprised that the successful raid had produced high spirits. And dancing. Sam couldn't quite believe they were dancing, though. Helo and Sue-Shaun were singing rather tunelessly, for accompaniment, and Sam was pretty sure they were singing completely different songs.
Not that it mattered. The Cylons could decide to patrol in the area of Delphi Union High School suddenly, and attack them, and he doubted any of them would notice.
Maybe it was the successful raid, maybe it was the new blood--and colonial fleet members, at that. They gave his people someone to show off for. Someone to impress. His eyes strayed to Kara Thrace, her head thrown back as she laughed raucously at something Rally was saying. Probably telling a dirty joke, given those were her specialties.
Yeah. Someone to impress. Sam had thought they were hitting it off, before. They'd certainly sparred verbally, and then they'd played pyramid--and while the game was a physical one, Sam was pretty certain that it wasn't that physical. And having Kara Thrace slam him into the goal more than once (and he did the same) had definitely seemed to be indicative of some interest. And. Hell, he'd had her in his frakkin' arms at the end.
But they'd run into Helo coming inside, and she'd wandered off with him to trade stories of the last few months.
As if she'd felt his gaze, Kara turned to look at him, her eyes bright with alcohol and mischief. Rally whispered something in her ear, and Kara's grin deepened before she stood and sauntered over to Sam, like a cat stalking her prey.
Sam tipped his head back as he watched her approach. "None of those stories Rally tells are true, you know."
"I'm not interested in stories." Kara informed him, leaning forward--which gave him a really nice view down her barely-zipped sweat-shirt. She must have borrowed it from Rally. Her hand settled on his shoulder, and she smirked. "Do you dance, Anders? Or are you too superior to?"
"You askin'?"
"Could be."
"I can't dance." Sam confessed, eyes laughing up at her.
"And I have no rhythm, according to Tuneless over there--Helo!" She turned her head and bellowed, "Stop torturing us!"
"Frak you!" Helo shouted back.
"So, Anders. Dance with me?"
He shook his head, "I'll step all over you. Sorry."
"Fine. Be difficult." She huffed out a sigh, straightened and then sat down on his lap, straddling his legs. "Hi," she murmured.
Ok. Definitely interested, then. "Hi." He replied, a little lamely.
She snickered, "Gods, you're kind of slow, Sam." She leaned in and kissed him with a loud smack. "Really slow."
Putting his hands on her waist, Sam began to grin, "Slow can be nice, Kara."
"Only if you're patient." She wriggled her hips, "And I'm not a patient person, Sam."
"Let's get away from the 'singers'," he murmured, standing and bringing her with him.
2. Caprica, post-farm
The smell of the heavy raider was almost too much for Kara's raw nerves to bear. Cylon, it hissed, twisting around her and making her move closer to Sam, instinctively breathing in deeper and taking in his smell. Sweat and dirt, gun oil and Sam. Kara closed her eyes and let herself lean against him for ten seconds, knowing that was allowed.
No more than ten seconds. She was back upright before he could do more than shift slightly, arm moving around her waist. "Hey..."
He was shaking, Kara realized. Either with relief, or fear, or adrenaline, it didn't matter. He was shaking, and he wasn't afraid to let her know. She swallowed and reached down to touch the hand carelessly left to lie behind her. His fingers closed gently over hers.
"Thanks," she whispered, not really trusting her voice yet. She darted a glance at him, wondering if he thought she'd been pathetic. Her gut clenched at that: he already saw through her so easily, this would be one more chink in her armor. The physical wounds ached, too, though it hurt less, now that she'd moved.
"Hey." He tossed back, voice soft, eyes flickering around, as though he were counting his people. "It was the least I could do, y'know?"
"Sam. Sue-Shaun..." Kara glanced away, unable to finish her thought, to explain.
"They had her, strapped into one of those machines, didn't they." She wondered if he'd seen a farm before. There was a dark loathing in his voice, and Kara knew that it was for both Cylons and himself. In the short time she'd known him, he'd given her the impression that he took the death of his people personally.
"She's gone, Sam. I couldn't get her out, but I could leave her in peace."
His fingers tightened on hers and his head dropped. "Thank you," he murmured quietly.
Another member of his team lost, and Kara pushed past her own feelings of disquiet for a moment. She leaned into him, and let her lips brush against his jawline. "Don't mention it."
So he didn't, his fingers tightened around hers more, and she settled back almost too far away for holding hands to work, and they both were silent as the raider flew them to safety, the smell of Cylon and human sweat dragging at the back of her throat until she thought she'd never be free of it.
3. Caprica, stand-off
Twelve hours and there had been no sign of the Cylons sending in gas. Twelve hours of waiting that ate and ate at you until there was nothing left but a weary fear. Sam was more exhausted than he'd been in a long time, the waiting and the cold pushing down on him until all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a year.
But he had people to look after, people to worry over. A good leader didn't step out of a fight just for a little break.
Waiting like this was worse than getting shot at. At least when you were running, there was something to fight against. This was just watching, twitching at the least bit of movement in the distant trees (what could be seen of them through the worn, square-cut holes in the ruin they'd taken cover in). Was that metal? Was that the Cylons finally making their attack?
Kara, of course, was still standing. Determination radiated off of her, and Sam sometimes shifted his gaze from the trees to her. As though she could keep him on his feet by sheer force of will.
Perhaps she could. She'd convinced him that she was immortal, that she'd come back for him. And here she was, breathing in front of him. A part of him was still reeling over that. Another part of him felt as though the months she'd been gone didn't exist, that they'd taken up exactly where they'd been before.
He'd made her a promise, one that echoed her own, because he knew her. Knew that she needed the certainty of death to not snap. For one moment, before he'd promised, he'd seen the terror of the farms in her eyes. And he couldn't let her worry about that. Not when she had to keep it together for all their sakes (he might be in charge of the resistance, but Kara was military, her people would follow her). Unconsciously, his fingers tightened around the grip of his rifle for an instant.
The shift of his rifle, made him flinch, and he shook his head to clear it. "Hey." He murmured, hoping to distract her from whatever private hells she might still be entertaining.
They weren't the only ones who had to watch the tree-line.
"Nothing." Kara answered him, as though he'd actually asked a question. Perhaps he had.
Sam rolled his shoulders and rocked his head from side to side, trying to get rid of the tightness in his shoulders. Then he turned towards her, leaning into her personal space. Not looming; what would be the point in looming? When she didn't pull away, or stop him, he kissed her cheek, letting his mouth slide to her ear. "You should let Barolay stand watch. She and the marine sergeant are fresher than we are."
Probably not the sweet nothings she was expecting. One side of her mouth twitched, but she shook her head before turning to meet his gaze. "Sam. As soon as we're safe, Barolay can stand every watch she wants."
Then she kissed him, hard and fast, and turned back to her patch of forest.
Sam found himself smiling.
4. Space, heading for the fleet
The Cylons were gone from Caprica. Kara was exhausted, but she was hanging onto that idea--it was good news to tell the Admiral. Once everyone was packed into the raptors, Kara had them run a recon over Delphi and then Caprica City. Nothing was stirring, and she stared down through the cockpit windows, taking in the emptiness that echoed below them all. Almost, she could picture herself walking down a street, or a crowd of people. Pilots on leave, trading jokes until they ducked into the nearest bar.
But there weren't people there, and with no more survivors to pick up, Kara ordered them all back to the fleet.
Somehow, Sam ended up sitting on the grate next to her, but Kara couldn't really object to it. Not when his presence, and occasional comment was keeping her awake.
With Sharon--Kara still couldn't think of her properly as Boomer--giving them their coordinates for each jump, Kara kept a careful eye on her. After the first ten, she could tell that Helo was shooting Sharon worried looks. The Cylon did look a little grey around the edges, Kara had to admit, even if only to herself. Then again, Kara probably looked a little grey with exhaustion, too.
"I'm calling a break," Kara said into the stillness that accompanied the nod from Helo that told her the other raptors had all checked in. She repeated her words over the wire, adding, "Take a fifteen-minute nap, people. We're leaving in twenty."
"Thanks, Starbuck." Slapping her leg, Helo was up and out of his seat and moving into the back. Kara found her lip twisting up a little in derision as he knelt next to Sharon, offering her a drink from a canteen when she finally noticed him. Sometimes, Kara couldn't believe she'd managed to talk Sharon into helping them. Other times, she couldn't figure out how she'd managed to accept Sharon as a person instead of a machine.
"Hey." With a groan, Sam climbed off the floor and claimed Helo's seat. He reached over and caught her hand. "You should nap, too."
She grunted, then rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "Can't sleep. Mission commander."
His hand tugged at hers, and he tilted his head towards the back, blue eyes watching her in the dim light as though he knew a secret she didn't. "I won't tell if you won't."
The temptation to close her eyes and let the stars guard them was almost enough. But she wasn't going to let herself get caught sleeping on the job. She opened his mouth to tell him that, and yawned instead.
"C'mon. Ten minutes. You'll feel a lot better." His thumb rubbed over her knuckles and he leaned across the space between them, mouth brushing her cheek. "And you can dream about me."
Someone had once warned Kara about pyramid players. She narrowed her eyes at him, then snorted. "In your dreams."
He raised his eyebrows and settled back against Helo's seat, eyes half-closed. "It's a nice place to be."
Kara shook her head at him, then caught herself yawning again. Well, crap. She rolled her shoulders, then tugged at his hand. "Wake me in ten." Her eyes were closed before she added, in a murmur, "Thanks."
It was possible Sam said something else, but she didn't hear it.
5. Space, waiting for landing clearance
Kara was nervous, and Sam wasn't sure why. She'd been confident and assured ever since they met up again, but now that they were back (and through the window, he could see the ships of the fleet, and he wondered if they would be large enough for the people he'd brought with him), there was an uneasiness in her movements. She'd almost bitten off Helo's head while he was checking something.
Now they were waiting for clearance, and Sam wondered if she was worried about dumping more civilians on an already-stretched eco-system. Not really thinking about it, he poked her leg. "Hey, we gonna land anytime soon? I gotta pee."
Her hand slapped at his, and she turned and growled, "Sit down and shut up, mister."
"Yessir," he mimed a crappy salute at her, then grinned, "And what if I don't?"
For just an instant, he could see the sort of frightening kind of commander Kara could be. The thought of her throwing him in the brig wouldn't be a joke, it would be a hardship. Then her face softened, and she shook her head. "Maybe I'll have you locked up by the Doc."
"You just wanna see me in a hospital gown," he teased, bumping her hip with his knuckles.
"With the back open and your ass flappin' in the wind," Kara agreed, then snorted. "Think I'll leave that to the pretty nurses, like Ishay."
The radio crackled, pulling her attention back to the Galactica. Clear and firm landing clearance came over the wire, and she relaxed and acknowledged before telling Helo to let the others know.
"Before we land, though--" Kara turned and leaned down. She was twisted uncomfortably around, so Sam thought he'd get on his knees in order to facilitate things. Her hand tugged at his shirt and he cupped her face as she kissed him. With his eyes open, he could still see the black of space, dotted with stars through the window of the cockpit. Then he closed his eyes and tried to tell Kara that everything would be fine.
They were alive, and they were safe. And if she'd stop frakkin' around, they could land and do more than kiss awkwardly.
When she pulled back and settled back in her seat, she was grinning. "Don't even say a word, Helo."
"Not sayin' a thing, sir."
Sam sat back on his ass, wished it wasn't numb, and then added the hope that the Admiral wasn't about to shoot them all once they'd boarded his ship.
-f-
Rating: PG, swearing, violence and references to suicide and the forced impregnation of women.
Length: 2400+
Pairing: Kara/Sam, slight reference to Sharon/Helo.
Set: during Resistance/The Farm and Lay Down Your Burdens
Genre: romance? angst?
Notes: This fic was started a really long time ago, and initially had the provisional title of "Five Battlefields Kara and Sam Kissed On", but it ended up not being that fic, as even while I was writing it (on paper), it changed to something else. I got the first part of this written, most of the second, and then cleaned the area around my desk. And suddenly, parts three, four and five couldn't be found, as the bundle of paper that got shoved into another bundle was very difficult to find. But I was going through stuff today, and ran across the sheets with 2-5 on them, and went "HEY, I KNOW WHAT THIS IS. OMG."
I believe I once posted the first part in the comments, somewhere, as a stand-alone ficlet. (now I'm going to shut up before the notes end up longer than the fic)
Five Times Kara and Sam Kissed Before Landing on Galactica
by ALC Punk!
1. Caprica, resistance hide-out
They were acting like idiots, everyone drunk from too much of Rally's rotgut. Sam Anders had seen his people like this before, so he wasn't too surprised that the successful raid had produced high spirits. And dancing. Sam couldn't quite believe they were dancing, though. Helo and Sue-Shaun were singing rather tunelessly, for accompaniment, and Sam was pretty sure they were singing completely different songs.
Not that it mattered. The Cylons could decide to patrol in the area of Delphi Union High School suddenly, and attack them, and he doubted any of them would notice.
Maybe it was the successful raid, maybe it was the new blood--and colonial fleet members, at that. They gave his people someone to show off for. Someone to impress. His eyes strayed to Kara Thrace, her head thrown back as she laughed raucously at something Rally was saying. Probably telling a dirty joke, given those were her specialties.
Yeah. Someone to impress. Sam had thought they were hitting it off, before. They'd certainly sparred verbally, and then they'd played pyramid--and while the game was a physical one, Sam was pretty certain that it wasn't that physical. And having Kara Thrace slam him into the goal more than once (and he did the same) had definitely seemed to be indicative of some interest. And. Hell, he'd had her in his frakkin' arms at the end.
But they'd run into Helo coming inside, and she'd wandered off with him to trade stories of the last few months.
As if she'd felt his gaze, Kara turned to look at him, her eyes bright with alcohol and mischief. Rally whispered something in her ear, and Kara's grin deepened before she stood and sauntered over to Sam, like a cat stalking her prey.
Sam tipped his head back as he watched her approach. "None of those stories Rally tells are true, you know."
"I'm not interested in stories." Kara informed him, leaning forward--which gave him a really nice view down her barely-zipped sweat-shirt. She must have borrowed it from Rally. Her hand settled on his shoulder, and she smirked. "Do you dance, Anders? Or are you too superior to?"
"You askin'?"
"Could be."
"I can't dance." Sam confessed, eyes laughing up at her.
"And I have no rhythm, according to Tuneless over there--Helo!" She turned her head and bellowed, "Stop torturing us!"
"Frak you!" Helo shouted back.
"So, Anders. Dance with me?"
He shook his head, "I'll step all over you. Sorry."
"Fine. Be difficult." She huffed out a sigh, straightened and then sat down on his lap, straddling his legs. "Hi," she murmured.
Ok. Definitely interested, then. "Hi." He replied, a little lamely.
She snickered, "Gods, you're kind of slow, Sam." She leaned in and kissed him with a loud smack. "Really slow."
Putting his hands on her waist, Sam began to grin, "Slow can be nice, Kara."
"Only if you're patient." She wriggled her hips, "And I'm not a patient person, Sam."
"Let's get away from the 'singers'," he murmured, standing and bringing her with him.
2. Caprica, post-farm
The smell of the heavy raider was almost too much for Kara's raw nerves to bear. Cylon, it hissed, twisting around her and making her move closer to Sam, instinctively breathing in deeper and taking in his smell. Sweat and dirt, gun oil and Sam. Kara closed her eyes and let herself lean against him for ten seconds, knowing that was allowed.
No more than ten seconds. She was back upright before he could do more than shift slightly, arm moving around her waist. "Hey..."
He was shaking, Kara realized. Either with relief, or fear, or adrenaline, it didn't matter. He was shaking, and he wasn't afraid to let her know. She swallowed and reached down to touch the hand carelessly left to lie behind her. His fingers closed gently over hers.
"Thanks," she whispered, not really trusting her voice yet. She darted a glance at him, wondering if he thought she'd been pathetic. Her gut clenched at that: he already saw through her so easily, this would be one more chink in her armor. The physical wounds ached, too, though it hurt less, now that she'd moved.
"Hey." He tossed back, voice soft, eyes flickering around, as though he were counting his people. "It was the least I could do, y'know?"
"Sam. Sue-Shaun..." Kara glanced away, unable to finish her thought, to explain.
"They had her, strapped into one of those machines, didn't they." She wondered if he'd seen a farm before. There was a dark loathing in his voice, and Kara knew that it was for both Cylons and himself. In the short time she'd known him, he'd given her the impression that he took the death of his people personally.
"She's gone, Sam. I couldn't get her out, but I could leave her in peace."
His fingers tightened on hers and his head dropped. "Thank you," he murmured quietly.
Another member of his team lost, and Kara pushed past her own feelings of disquiet for a moment. She leaned into him, and let her lips brush against his jawline. "Don't mention it."
So he didn't, his fingers tightened around hers more, and she settled back almost too far away for holding hands to work, and they both were silent as the raider flew them to safety, the smell of Cylon and human sweat dragging at the back of her throat until she thought she'd never be free of it.
3. Caprica, stand-off
Twelve hours and there had been no sign of the Cylons sending in gas. Twelve hours of waiting that ate and ate at you until there was nothing left but a weary fear. Sam was more exhausted than he'd been in a long time, the waiting and the cold pushing down on him until all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a year.
But he had people to look after, people to worry over. A good leader didn't step out of a fight just for a little break.
Waiting like this was worse than getting shot at. At least when you were running, there was something to fight against. This was just watching, twitching at the least bit of movement in the distant trees (what could be seen of them through the worn, square-cut holes in the ruin they'd taken cover in). Was that metal? Was that the Cylons finally making their attack?
Kara, of course, was still standing. Determination radiated off of her, and Sam sometimes shifted his gaze from the trees to her. As though she could keep him on his feet by sheer force of will.
Perhaps she could. She'd convinced him that she was immortal, that she'd come back for him. And here she was, breathing in front of him. A part of him was still reeling over that. Another part of him felt as though the months she'd been gone didn't exist, that they'd taken up exactly where they'd been before.
He'd made her a promise, one that echoed her own, because he knew her. Knew that she needed the certainty of death to not snap. For one moment, before he'd promised, he'd seen the terror of the farms in her eyes. And he couldn't let her worry about that. Not when she had to keep it together for all their sakes (he might be in charge of the resistance, but Kara was military, her people would follow her). Unconsciously, his fingers tightened around the grip of his rifle for an instant.
The shift of his rifle, made him flinch, and he shook his head to clear it. "Hey." He murmured, hoping to distract her from whatever private hells she might still be entertaining.
They weren't the only ones who had to watch the tree-line.
"Nothing." Kara answered him, as though he'd actually asked a question. Perhaps he had.
Sam rolled his shoulders and rocked his head from side to side, trying to get rid of the tightness in his shoulders. Then he turned towards her, leaning into her personal space. Not looming; what would be the point in looming? When she didn't pull away, or stop him, he kissed her cheek, letting his mouth slide to her ear. "You should let Barolay stand watch. She and the marine sergeant are fresher than we are."
Probably not the sweet nothings she was expecting. One side of her mouth twitched, but she shook her head before turning to meet his gaze. "Sam. As soon as we're safe, Barolay can stand every watch she wants."
Then she kissed him, hard and fast, and turned back to her patch of forest.
Sam found himself smiling.
4. Space, heading for the fleet
The Cylons were gone from Caprica. Kara was exhausted, but she was hanging onto that idea--it was good news to tell the Admiral. Once everyone was packed into the raptors, Kara had them run a recon over Delphi and then Caprica City. Nothing was stirring, and she stared down through the cockpit windows, taking in the emptiness that echoed below them all. Almost, she could picture herself walking down a street, or a crowd of people. Pilots on leave, trading jokes until they ducked into the nearest bar.
But there weren't people there, and with no more survivors to pick up, Kara ordered them all back to the fleet.
Somehow, Sam ended up sitting on the grate next to her, but Kara couldn't really object to it. Not when his presence, and occasional comment was keeping her awake.
With Sharon--Kara still couldn't think of her properly as Boomer--giving them their coordinates for each jump, Kara kept a careful eye on her. After the first ten, she could tell that Helo was shooting Sharon worried looks. The Cylon did look a little grey around the edges, Kara had to admit, even if only to herself. Then again, Kara probably looked a little grey with exhaustion, too.
"I'm calling a break," Kara said into the stillness that accompanied the nod from Helo that told her the other raptors had all checked in. She repeated her words over the wire, adding, "Take a fifteen-minute nap, people. We're leaving in twenty."
"Thanks, Starbuck." Slapping her leg, Helo was up and out of his seat and moving into the back. Kara found her lip twisting up a little in derision as he knelt next to Sharon, offering her a drink from a canteen when she finally noticed him. Sometimes, Kara couldn't believe she'd managed to talk Sharon into helping them. Other times, she couldn't figure out how she'd managed to accept Sharon as a person instead of a machine.
"Hey." With a groan, Sam climbed off the floor and claimed Helo's seat. He reached over and caught her hand. "You should nap, too."
She grunted, then rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "Can't sleep. Mission commander."
His hand tugged at hers, and he tilted his head towards the back, blue eyes watching her in the dim light as though he knew a secret she didn't. "I won't tell if you won't."
The temptation to close her eyes and let the stars guard them was almost enough. But she wasn't going to let herself get caught sleeping on the job. She opened his mouth to tell him that, and yawned instead.
"C'mon. Ten minutes. You'll feel a lot better." His thumb rubbed over her knuckles and he leaned across the space between them, mouth brushing her cheek. "And you can dream about me."
Someone had once warned Kara about pyramid players. She narrowed her eyes at him, then snorted. "In your dreams."
He raised his eyebrows and settled back against Helo's seat, eyes half-closed. "It's a nice place to be."
Kara shook her head at him, then caught herself yawning again. Well, crap. She rolled her shoulders, then tugged at his hand. "Wake me in ten." Her eyes were closed before she added, in a murmur, "Thanks."
It was possible Sam said something else, but she didn't hear it.
5. Space, waiting for landing clearance
Kara was nervous, and Sam wasn't sure why. She'd been confident and assured ever since they met up again, but now that they were back (and through the window, he could see the ships of the fleet, and he wondered if they would be large enough for the people he'd brought with him), there was an uneasiness in her movements. She'd almost bitten off Helo's head while he was checking something.
Now they were waiting for clearance, and Sam wondered if she was worried about dumping more civilians on an already-stretched eco-system. Not really thinking about it, he poked her leg. "Hey, we gonna land anytime soon? I gotta pee."
Her hand slapped at his, and she turned and growled, "Sit down and shut up, mister."
"Yessir," he mimed a crappy salute at her, then grinned, "And what if I don't?"
For just an instant, he could see the sort of frightening kind of commander Kara could be. The thought of her throwing him in the brig wouldn't be a joke, it would be a hardship. Then her face softened, and she shook her head. "Maybe I'll have you locked up by the Doc."
"You just wanna see me in a hospital gown," he teased, bumping her hip with his knuckles.
"With the back open and your ass flappin' in the wind," Kara agreed, then snorted. "Think I'll leave that to the pretty nurses, like Ishay."
The radio crackled, pulling her attention back to the Galactica. Clear and firm landing clearance came over the wire, and she relaxed and acknowledged before telling Helo to let the others know.
"Before we land, though--" Kara turned and leaned down. She was twisted uncomfortably around, so Sam thought he'd get on his knees in order to facilitate things. Her hand tugged at his shirt and he cupped her face as she kissed him. With his eyes open, he could still see the black of space, dotted with stars through the window of the cockpit. Then he closed his eyes and tried to tell Kara that everything would be fine.
They were alive, and they were safe. And if she'd stop frakkin' around, they could land and do more than kiss awkwardly.
When she pulled back and settled back in her seat, she was grinning. "Don't even say a word, Helo."
"Not sayin' a thing, sir."
Sam sat back on his ass, wished it wasn't numb, and then added the hope that the Admiral wasn't about to shoot them all once they'd boarded his ship.
-f-