BSG FIC: Something to Stay For
Title: Something to Stay For
Author: The Plaid Slytherin (plaid_slytherin)
Characters/Pairings: Kara/Lee, Bill/Saul
Rating: T
A/N: This is a blackout for bingo at no_takebacks, posted here since it got a little chaotic in comments. 25 drabbles but it tells a coherent (I hope) story. I had to fight to get some of the prompts to work in the story.
war's over, we lost
When she comes back, Kara's first thought is how bleak everything looks. The settlements, if you could call them that, are divided. Humans on one side of the river, Cylons on the other.
She hasn't gotten the whole story yet. Just that something happened, something major and the humans drove the Cylons-and anyone who sided with them-out.
They're suspicious of her right from the start. Word of her, what she is, what she might be, how she disappeared, has apparently spread.
She hates their eyes on her as she walks through town. She just needs to find Lee.
**
in hack
As it turns out, he finds her. They don't tell her what she did wrong-it could have been anything. Looked at someone funny, made some comment under her breath that got overheard.
That's how she finds herself in the little hut that serves as the jail, feeling déjà vu.
She almost doesn't recognize him in the dim light when he comes in. His hair's longer and he has a beard, but it's Lee all right, scrutinizing her through the bars.
"Kara?" he whispers. "Is that really you?"
"It's really me." She stands slowly. "Glad they thought to call you."
**
secretary of education
He gives a snort of mirthless laughter. "They had to, actually. I'm… it's kind of my job."
"Getting people out of jail?"
He crouches down so that they're at eye level. "Kara… I'm the President."
"You're what?" she snaps. "How could you let this happen?"
"Not here," he says softly. "On the other side."
"Oh." Kara sits back, surprised. "Just didn't take you for the type."
"What, to be President at all, or go with the Cylons."
She smirks. "You're no secretary of education."
This cuts through his mask and he smiles. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."
**
retirement prank
Across the river, things aren't much better, but at least no one's afraid of her. She doesn't understand how this could still happen, even all these years later.
If she ever wondered why Lee was over here, that was answered instantly the moment he lets her into his house and she sees Saul Tigh there. The pieces fall into place instantly.
Oddly, he doesn't seem surprised to see her.
"Thought you'd come back," he mutters. "Thought maybe you were just playing a trick on us, the way you disappeared and all."
"I think it's a bit more complicated than that."
**
lieutenant Gaeta
"Well, complicated's good." He slides a drink her way across the table. "Best stuff we got-better than what they got on the other side, mind you."
"What happened?" she suddenly blurts out.
Tigh frowns, his features set. He looks at Lee, who nods.
"Thought maybe people'd get over it, with the mutiny and all." Tigh's gaze is far away and Kara remembers that day. She still can't believe Gaeta would do that, but she supposes you never really know someone.
"What happened?"
Tigh takes a long sip, seeming to steel himself. "They came for us. Middle of the night."
**
Captain Apollo
Kara feels a chill shoot down her spine and she looks at Lee, who nods confirmation. "They were pounding on the door, so I got up to see what they wanted. They pushed me aside; said they were after him." He nods at Tigh.
"You should have seen him." Tigh is grinning in admiration, something she never thought she'd see. "Every inch Apollo. Says, 'If you're gonna do anything to my stepfather, you've got to get through me first.'"
Lee looks thoroughly embarrassed; Kara laughs. It obviously helps them to cast a painful memory in somewhat of a silly light.
**
beyond insane
"The whole thing was beyond insane," Lee says. "We didn't know what was going on."
"But we knew we had to get out," Tigh says firmly. "We didn't have the upper hand and I didn't want my family in danger. We knew there were a bunch of Cylons over here anyway, so we left."
"Who's we?" Kara asks. She's noticing an absence and it's making her nervous.
Tigh takes another swig. "Us and the Agathons. Baltar, Caprica. Out of all the humans, only Hot Dog stood up and said how crazy it was. He's here, too. Him and his kid."
**
rescue mission
"No one else?"
Tigh rubs his face. "No. No one else."
Her heart sinks.
"What about-?"
"Oh, Bill?" Tigh's eyebrows rise. "Thought you knew. He came with us, of course. He's at work. He's fine, though…" Tigh pauses. "Like I said. It got ugly."
"What happened?"
Tigh looks at Lee again, his eye saying what he can't. Lee takes the cue from his stepfather (Kara still marvels at that) and continues the story.
"They wanted to arrest him. One of the mutineers, from Pegasus. A friend of his died during the rescue mission, at the end. He blamed Dad."
**
so say we all
"Oh, you're being generous," Tigh mutters. "Blamed him for a hell of a lot more than that. Even went back to that first lie about Earth, all the way up to marrying a Cylon. He had the whole crowd whipped up into a frenzy."
"And we had to get out of there," Lee adds. "We had kids, and Dad was hurt. There was no other decision we could make."
"I would've stood my ground." Tigh sounds disappointed in himself. "But we just kind of looked at each other and it was like so-say-we-all-that's-that. We ran. Like a bunch of cowards."
**
viper
"I don't think so," Kara says. "You made the right decision." She looks at both of them, knowing fully how capable of brave-stupid-decisions they both are. But a Viper pilot learns soon enough the difference between smart and brave (not that she ever did).
"Cylons took us in," Tigh goes on. "It's not so bad. Lee sure keeps busy enough."
"How did that happen?" she prods.
"They kind of nominated me. Well, first they nominated Dad, and then Saul, but neither of them would do it." He shrugs. "So then they looked at my background and nominated me."
**
I thought you were dead
At that moment, the front door creaks open and all three of them jump.
Bill Adama is standing in the doorway, leaning, a bit too heavily for Kara's liking, on a cane.
"Kara?" he whispers. He staggers a little as he enters the house and both Saul and Lee jump up to grab him. He waves them off.
She meets him halfway to the table and they embrace.
"I thought you were dead," he breathes into her hair.
"Same, for a while."
He pulls back. "How did you get here?"
"It's a long story," Lee says. "We've been telling her."
**
the old man
Bill nods and sits. Kara notices he holds his left leg out stiffly and she remembers them mentioning he'd been hurt.
Still, everything feels complete now. Lee, his father, even Tigh. It doesn't matter where they are or who else they're with, as long as they're together.
"It's so good to see you, Kara," Bill says.
"It's good to see you, too."
He smiles. "When you… vanished… I thought that was it."
"The truth is, sir, I thought so, too." She pauses. It's hard to admit, somehow-after all, where was she when they were chased out of their home?
**
Reunion space
"I'm just glad we're all together now," Bill says, smiling warmly, echoing her thoughts.
They don't talk about what happened. Kara knows Lee will fill her in later. Right now, she just wants to catch up on happy things-she learns "work" for Bill is a lending library he's helped set up, that Athena and Helo have a second child. This occupies them through supper and long beyond, until well after dark when Lee announces he's going out for a walk.
As Bill and Tigh move to clean up, Kara can see he wants her to come. So she does.
**
he was my brother
They walk together out the back door and into the night. It's quiet out here, and Kara can see liking it, the peaceful life.
"Are you staying?" Lee asks.
She freezes, not expecting him to have read her mind. "I don't know."
"You should." In the dark, his shoulders are hunched, his hands in his pockets. "But if you don't, I want you to know I saved this." He hands her something, a crumpled photograph. Slowly, she unfolds it.
It's her, Zak and Lee, the picture she'd had in her locker. She'd almost forgotten about it.
"For Zak?" she asks.
**
launch tube
"I saved it for you," he says, and the feeling in her stomach is the rush of being launched in her Viper. She doesn't know what to say; her mouth literally can't form words.
"I mean," he goes on, laughing a little, "I needed some connection to you. It was all I could think to grab that night and I just…" He shrugs. "I wanted to give it back to you. It's yours."
Kara reaches out for his hand, then, not sure why she's done it or where it will lead. "I was so glad," she says, her voice catching.
**
Earth
"So glad of what?"
She looks away, out into the night. Somewhere in the distance, there's an animal sound, one she can't possibly begin to place and she feels keenly how foreign this place is, how they are so very alone on this planet they're trying to make their home.
"I'm glad you came to get me," she says, not letting go of his hand. "When I saw you, my first thought was just how glad I was that you were there, that you were okay."
"So are you staying?"
She slots their fingers together, squeezing hard. "Yes. For now."
**
first Cylon war
They stay outside like that for a while, just holding hands. Eventually, though, Lee stands and says, "We should go in. They'll wonder."
"Okay."
Bill looks up when the door opens. "Good, you're back. I was going to get some wood." He starts to stand slowly, reaching for his cane.
"No, I'll do that." Lee motions for him to sit back down.
"This is nothing," he mutters. "Old war wound just acting up." But he does sit. Once he's certain his father's not going anywhere, he ducks out for the wood.
Kara reaches out to squeeze Bill's hand. "I'm sorry."
**
DRADIS
"Nah, it's nothing." He claps a hand on top of hers.
As Lee comes in, he launches into a story she's never heard before about not seeing a Cylon bird on DRADIS until it was too late. A glance at Lee confirms her suspicions that he's downplaying the seriousness of the injuries he received that night.
She spends the night downstairs, after refusing both Adamas' offers to give up their bedrooms for her. Briefly, as she lies awake on the couch, she considers slipping out, but she knows that would hurt both of them, so she lets herself fall asleep.
**
most of the afternoon
The next day, she learns that even leaders work outside.
"There's not actually much for me to do," Lee tells her as they head out to the fields together. "If a problem comes up, I sit on a council to deal with it, but a problem has never come up." He grins sheepishly. "Before you, that is."
Kara snorts. Of course she would be the first crisis President Lee ever had to deal with.
They join in the planting and they work in silence for most of the afternoon. It's comforting to know he's there, though, working right beside her.
**
I heard you
Finally, she works up the nerve to say something. They've moved down the line, far from the nearest workers.
"Was I really a problem?"
Silence.
"Was I really-"
"I heard you."
Lee straightens up, wiping his hands on his pants. "I was just thinking of an answer."
"No," he says, going back to the dirt. "You weren't a problem. I was glad to go get you. I'm glad you came back."
She sits, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I was wondering if you really wanted me here. I feel like I could have been there for you…"
**
mistakes we have made
Lee stops what he's doing and sits down next to her. "Why? How could you have known? You needed to get out there, clear your head, right?"
She glances at him. He doesn't seem hurt like she thought he'd be. When she came, wanting to see him, she had been rehearsing a litany of apologies for everything she'd done to hurt him. Now, she can barely say anything.
"You don't have to apologize for things that are beyond your control," he says. "I think this should be a new start, you know? New planet, new start?" He touches her hand.
**
raptor
Together, they watch a bird wheeling through the sky.
"Do you want to stay?"
"Yes." She doesn't hesitate before answering, but her eyes never leave the distant raptor. "If you want me to. I mean, I can find-"
He reaches for her cheek, then, brushing back her hair. "Another place to stay? No. You're going to stay with us." He kisses her firmly.
It catches her off guard and she clings to him, almost forgetting to kiss back. When she does, it's desperate, tugging at the back of his shirt. She's wanted this more than breathing for so long.
**
two years
"Two years," he whispers, when they break apart. He rests his forehead against hers. "It's been two years since we…"
"It has?" She lost track of time when she was wandering, but now she realizes it has indeed been two years since their last kiss.
He laughs. "Figures. I was counting days and you had no idea."
"No, it's not like that."
"I know." He kisses her again, his thumb pressing behind her ear. "Just teasing you."
"Oh?" She smirks, as that old connection comes back to her, that feeling of just being with Lee. "Two can play at that."
**
coming in a little hot
"Kara, what-" She cuts off his protests by pushing him down.
"Mr. President," she says firmly. And then she starts tickling him.
"Kara… Kara… Kara…" He's laughing and trying to push her off but not doing a very convincing job. Somehow, the tickling turns to pushing his shirt up and pulling his pants down while he tries to do the same.
She knows this is hasty, but she can't stop, doesn't want to stop, and it's only when Lee grabs her wrist that she comes back to herself and can see the two of them, lying there panting together.
**
kiss your ass
"Later," he promises. "Not here."
"Why?" she asks, teasing again. "Would it harm your political career to be caught in a compromising position?"
"No." He kisses her again. "We need to get back to work."
"Okay." They stand and walk back to the field, hand-in-hand. "But I'll remind you, Mr. Adama, you won't get any political ass-kissing from me. I may not even vote for you."
He grins. "I wouldn't expect any less from you."
She beams, trying to still her racing heart. She can stay. She wants to stay. It feels odd, but good, having something to stay for.
Author: The Plaid Slytherin (plaid_slytherin)
Characters/Pairings: Kara/Lee, Bill/Saul
Rating: T
A/N: This is a blackout for bingo at no_takebacks, posted here since it got a little chaotic in comments. 25 drabbles but it tells a coherent (I hope) story. I had to fight to get some of the prompts to work in the story.
war's over, we lost
When she comes back, Kara's first thought is how bleak everything looks. The settlements, if you could call them that, are divided. Humans on one side of the river, Cylons on the other.
She hasn't gotten the whole story yet. Just that something happened, something major and the humans drove the Cylons-and anyone who sided with them-out.
They're suspicious of her right from the start. Word of her, what she is, what she might be, how she disappeared, has apparently spread.
She hates their eyes on her as she walks through town. She just needs to find Lee.
**
in hack
As it turns out, he finds her. They don't tell her what she did wrong-it could have been anything. Looked at someone funny, made some comment under her breath that got overheard.
That's how she finds herself in the little hut that serves as the jail, feeling déjà vu.
She almost doesn't recognize him in the dim light when he comes in. His hair's longer and he has a beard, but it's Lee all right, scrutinizing her through the bars.
"Kara?" he whispers. "Is that really you?"
"It's really me." She stands slowly. "Glad they thought to call you."
**
secretary of education
He gives a snort of mirthless laughter. "They had to, actually. I'm… it's kind of my job."
"Getting people out of jail?"
He crouches down so that they're at eye level. "Kara… I'm the President."
"You're what?" she snaps. "How could you let this happen?"
"Not here," he says softly. "On the other side."
"Oh." Kara sits back, surprised. "Just didn't take you for the type."
"What, to be President at all, or go with the Cylons."
She smirks. "You're no secretary of education."
This cuts through his mask and he smiles. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."
**
retirement prank
Across the river, things aren't much better, but at least no one's afraid of her. She doesn't understand how this could still happen, even all these years later.
If she ever wondered why Lee was over here, that was answered instantly the moment he lets her into his house and she sees Saul Tigh there. The pieces fall into place instantly.
Oddly, he doesn't seem surprised to see her.
"Thought you'd come back," he mutters. "Thought maybe you were just playing a trick on us, the way you disappeared and all."
"I think it's a bit more complicated than that."
**
lieutenant Gaeta
"Well, complicated's good." He slides a drink her way across the table. "Best stuff we got-better than what they got on the other side, mind you."
"What happened?" she suddenly blurts out.
Tigh frowns, his features set. He looks at Lee, who nods.
"Thought maybe people'd get over it, with the mutiny and all." Tigh's gaze is far away and Kara remembers that day. She still can't believe Gaeta would do that, but she supposes you never really know someone.
"What happened?"
Tigh takes a long sip, seeming to steel himself. "They came for us. Middle of the night."
**
Captain Apollo
Kara feels a chill shoot down her spine and she looks at Lee, who nods confirmation. "They were pounding on the door, so I got up to see what they wanted. They pushed me aside; said they were after him." He nods at Tigh.
"You should have seen him." Tigh is grinning in admiration, something she never thought she'd see. "Every inch Apollo. Says, 'If you're gonna do anything to my stepfather, you've got to get through me first.'"
Lee looks thoroughly embarrassed; Kara laughs. It obviously helps them to cast a painful memory in somewhat of a silly light.
**
beyond insane
"The whole thing was beyond insane," Lee says. "We didn't know what was going on."
"But we knew we had to get out," Tigh says firmly. "We didn't have the upper hand and I didn't want my family in danger. We knew there were a bunch of Cylons over here anyway, so we left."
"Who's we?" Kara asks. She's noticing an absence and it's making her nervous.
Tigh takes another swig. "Us and the Agathons. Baltar, Caprica. Out of all the humans, only Hot Dog stood up and said how crazy it was. He's here, too. Him and his kid."
**
rescue mission
"No one else?"
Tigh rubs his face. "No. No one else."
Her heart sinks.
"What about-?"
"Oh, Bill?" Tigh's eyebrows rise. "Thought you knew. He came with us, of course. He's at work. He's fine, though…" Tigh pauses. "Like I said. It got ugly."
"What happened?"
Tigh looks at Lee again, his eye saying what he can't. Lee takes the cue from his stepfather (Kara still marvels at that) and continues the story.
"They wanted to arrest him. One of the mutineers, from Pegasus. A friend of his died during the rescue mission, at the end. He blamed Dad."
**
so say we all
"Oh, you're being generous," Tigh mutters. "Blamed him for a hell of a lot more than that. Even went back to that first lie about Earth, all the way up to marrying a Cylon. He had the whole crowd whipped up into a frenzy."
"And we had to get out of there," Lee adds. "We had kids, and Dad was hurt. There was no other decision we could make."
"I would've stood my ground." Tigh sounds disappointed in himself. "But we just kind of looked at each other and it was like so-say-we-all-that's-that. We ran. Like a bunch of cowards."
**
viper
"I don't think so," Kara says. "You made the right decision." She looks at both of them, knowing fully how capable of brave-stupid-decisions they both are. But a Viper pilot learns soon enough the difference between smart and brave (not that she ever did).
"Cylons took us in," Tigh goes on. "It's not so bad. Lee sure keeps busy enough."
"How did that happen?" she prods.
"They kind of nominated me. Well, first they nominated Dad, and then Saul, but neither of them would do it." He shrugs. "So then they looked at my background and nominated me."
**
I thought you were dead
At that moment, the front door creaks open and all three of them jump.
Bill Adama is standing in the doorway, leaning, a bit too heavily for Kara's liking, on a cane.
"Kara?" he whispers. He staggers a little as he enters the house and both Saul and Lee jump up to grab him. He waves them off.
She meets him halfway to the table and they embrace.
"I thought you were dead," he breathes into her hair.
"Same, for a while."
He pulls back. "How did you get here?"
"It's a long story," Lee says. "We've been telling her."
**
the old man
Bill nods and sits. Kara notices he holds his left leg out stiffly and she remembers them mentioning he'd been hurt.
Still, everything feels complete now. Lee, his father, even Tigh. It doesn't matter where they are or who else they're with, as long as they're together.
"It's so good to see you, Kara," Bill says.
"It's good to see you, too."
He smiles. "When you… vanished… I thought that was it."
"The truth is, sir, I thought so, too." She pauses. It's hard to admit, somehow-after all, where was she when they were chased out of their home?
**
Reunion space
"I'm just glad we're all together now," Bill says, smiling warmly, echoing her thoughts.
They don't talk about what happened. Kara knows Lee will fill her in later. Right now, she just wants to catch up on happy things-she learns "work" for Bill is a lending library he's helped set up, that Athena and Helo have a second child. This occupies them through supper and long beyond, until well after dark when Lee announces he's going out for a walk.
As Bill and Tigh move to clean up, Kara can see he wants her to come. So she does.
**
he was my brother
They walk together out the back door and into the night. It's quiet out here, and Kara can see liking it, the peaceful life.
"Are you staying?" Lee asks.
She freezes, not expecting him to have read her mind. "I don't know."
"You should." In the dark, his shoulders are hunched, his hands in his pockets. "But if you don't, I want you to know I saved this." He hands her something, a crumpled photograph. Slowly, she unfolds it.
It's her, Zak and Lee, the picture she'd had in her locker. She'd almost forgotten about it.
"For Zak?" she asks.
**
launch tube
"I saved it for you," he says, and the feeling in her stomach is the rush of being launched in her Viper. She doesn't know what to say; her mouth literally can't form words.
"I mean," he goes on, laughing a little, "I needed some connection to you. It was all I could think to grab that night and I just…" He shrugs. "I wanted to give it back to you. It's yours."
Kara reaches out for his hand, then, not sure why she's done it or where it will lead. "I was so glad," she says, her voice catching.
**
Earth
"So glad of what?"
She looks away, out into the night. Somewhere in the distance, there's an animal sound, one she can't possibly begin to place and she feels keenly how foreign this place is, how they are so very alone on this planet they're trying to make their home.
"I'm glad you came to get me," she says, not letting go of his hand. "When I saw you, my first thought was just how glad I was that you were there, that you were okay."
"So are you staying?"
She slots their fingers together, squeezing hard. "Yes. For now."
**
first Cylon war
They stay outside like that for a while, just holding hands. Eventually, though, Lee stands and says, "We should go in. They'll wonder."
"Okay."
Bill looks up when the door opens. "Good, you're back. I was going to get some wood." He starts to stand slowly, reaching for his cane.
"No, I'll do that." Lee motions for him to sit back down.
"This is nothing," he mutters. "Old war wound just acting up." But he does sit. Once he's certain his father's not going anywhere, he ducks out for the wood.
Kara reaches out to squeeze Bill's hand. "I'm sorry."
**
DRADIS
"Nah, it's nothing." He claps a hand on top of hers.
As Lee comes in, he launches into a story she's never heard before about not seeing a Cylon bird on DRADIS until it was too late. A glance at Lee confirms her suspicions that he's downplaying the seriousness of the injuries he received that night.
She spends the night downstairs, after refusing both Adamas' offers to give up their bedrooms for her. Briefly, as she lies awake on the couch, she considers slipping out, but she knows that would hurt both of them, so she lets herself fall asleep.
**
most of the afternoon
The next day, she learns that even leaders work outside.
"There's not actually much for me to do," Lee tells her as they head out to the fields together. "If a problem comes up, I sit on a council to deal with it, but a problem has never come up." He grins sheepishly. "Before you, that is."
Kara snorts. Of course she would be the first crisis President Lee ever had to deal with.
They join in the planting and they work in silence for most of the afternoon. It's comforting to know he's there, though, working right beside her.
**
I heard you
Finally, she works up the nerve to say something. They've moved down the line, far from the nearest workers.
"Was I really a problem?"
Silence.
"Was I really-"
"I heard you."
Lee straightens up, wiping his hands on his pants. "I was just thinking of an answer."
"No," he says, going back to the dirt. "You weren't a problem. I was glad to go get you. I'm glad you came back."
She sits, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I was wondering if you really wanted me here. I feel like I could have been there for you…"
**
mistakes we have made
Lee stops what he's doing and sits down next to her. "Why? How could you have known? You needed to get out there, clear your head, right?"
She glances at him. He doesn't seem hurt like she thought he'd be. When she came, wanting to see him, she had been rehearsing a litany of apologies for everything she'd done to hurt him. Now, she can barely say anything.
"You don't have to apologize for things that are beyond your control," he says. "I think this should be a new start, you know? New planet, new start?" He touches her hand.
**
raptor
Together, they watch a bird wheeling through the sky.
"Do you want to stay?"
"Yes." She doesn't hesitate before answering, but her eyes never leave the distant raptor. "If you want me to. I mean, I can find-"
He reaches for her cheek, then, brushing back her hair. "Another place to stay? No. You're going to stay with us." He kisses her firmly.
It catches her off guard and she clings to him, almost forgetting to kiss back. When she does, it's desperate, tugging at the back of his shirt. She's wanted this more than breathing for so long.
**
two years
"Two years," he whispers, when they break apart. He rests his forehead against hers. "It's been two years since we…"
"It has?" She lost track of time when she was wandering, but now she realizes it has indeed been two years since their last kiss.
He laughs. "Figures. I was counting days and you had no idea."
"No, it's not like that."
"I know." He kisses her again, his thumb pressing behind her ear. "Just teasing you."
"Oh?" She smirks, as that old connection comes back to her, that feeling of just being with Lee. "Two can play at that."
**
coming in a little hot
"Kara, what-" She cuts off his protests by pushing him down.
"Mr. President," she says firmly. And then she starts tickling him.
"Kara… Kara… Kara…" He's laughing and trying to push her off but not doing a very convincing job. Somehow, the tickling turns to pushing his shirt up and pulling his pants down while he tries to do the same.
She knows this is hasty, but she can't stop, doesn't want to stop, and it's only when Lee grabs her wrist that she comes back to herself and can see the two of them, lying there panting together.
**
kiss your ass
"Later," he promises. "Not here."
"Why?" she asks, teasing again. "Would it harm your political career to be caught in a compromising position?"
"No." He kisses her again. "We need to get back to work."
"Okay." They stand and walk back to the field, hand-in-hand. "But I'll remind you, Mr. Adama, you won't get any political ass-kissing from me. I may not even vote for you."
He grins. "I wouldn't expect any less from you."
She beams, trying to still her racing heart. She can stay. She wants to stay. It feels odd, but good, having something to stay for.