Fic: Leftovers, 2/?

Oct 03, 2009 19:44

Since everyone's been so supportive, here's the second chapter of my Season 2 fic. Enjoy!

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Chapter 2
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Kara was vaguely aware of her surroundings for the next few hours. Occasionally she was roused from her fitful sleep by the low sound of Lee’s voice, relaying stories from their past-remembered incidents with too much ambrosia or Zak or both. Sometimes she’d wake up mid-scream and only the cool touch of Lee’s hand against her forehead kept her from trying to claw open the raging infection in her belly.

It throbbed with a mind of its own and Kara could feel the pulse of the disease beating under her skin. It was like a living thing and she wanted to rip it from her insides. Wanted to violently cut out the reminder of the Cylon hospital and what they’d done.

It was in one of these moments-one in which she wanted so badly to tear at her own flesh-that Lee chose to nap. He must have been exhausted and if Kara had been coherent, she probably would have realized he hadn’t left her-that she wasn’t alone.

But she thought she was. She could see nothing in the dark cave. The small fire Lee had tried so valiantly to keep going had died and she was surrounded by darkness and cold. On Caprica, she had been surrounded by harsh light and humidity that had made her skin damp from morning to night. But she’d been alone there as well.

With great effort, Kara eased her hand under the sleeping bag Apollo had cocooned her in. Each throb of pain acted as a beacon, a reason to keep going despite the tiredness she felt in her limbs, despite the small part of her mind that was still cogent and told her to stop. Kara ignored that little voice and inched her hand towards the bottom of her sweatshirt.

Tentatively, she pushed against the offending skin and cried out loud. It hurt so badly, the hot skin under her fingertips, the infection she could not see settling into the scars and starting to live there.

“Kara? What’s wrong?”

Thank the Gods he wasn’t gone. Kara’s eyes still couldn’t register much in the darkness, but she could hear Lee’s voice and saw a shadowy figure approach her side. As he covered her hand with his, Kara released a sigh of relief that sounded like his name. “Lee.”

“I’m here. What’s going on?”

She didn’t answer him, but he did the math on his own. Unzipping the side of the sleeping bag, he gently lifted her hand away, bringing a lamp close to inspect the damage. “Frak, Kara,” he murmured, reaching for the med kit as well. “You’re bleeding now.”

“Take it out, Lee.” She doubted he could understand her, but she kept begging him to anyway. “Whatever they did, take it out.”

“Shh, Kara, you’re okay. It’s just an infection from your gun shot.”

He worked quickly, but gently and Kara faded in and out of consciousness. One time she thought for sure she was back on Caprica and her heart raced as she spotted Simon coming towards her, another syringe of sedatives in his hand.

“No!”

“Kara, it’s okay.” She watched Lee through the slits of her eyes and caught sight of a needle. She squirmed, doing her best to get away from him and causing more pain to flare along the length of her left side.

“Kara, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“No needles.” She thrashed as best she could which was to say, not at all. “I don’t want to sleep.”

“You have to, Kara. You’ve got to rest. Your body needs to fight the infection.”

His eyes were clouded with concern and understanding, but Kara was adamant. “No. No sleeping.”

She blinked a few times and forced herself to hold his gaze despite the pull on her eyelids to close once more.

Only once Lee had placed the needle back in the kit did Kara relax and allow her eyes to close. She wasn’t going to sleep, but she was going to rest. Since he’d re-dressed the wounds she felt a little better, not quite as rabid as before and she took a few calming breaths.

“Tell me another story.”

Lee turned from where he was beside the dying fire. “What?”

“I need something to help me stay awake. Tell me a story.”

Kara watched Lee shake his head in amusement, while he went back to growing the fire once more. As soon as it had become a sizable blaze, he moved back to her side, lying next to her and propping his head on his hand. “I thought you were sleeping before.”

“I heard bits and pieces.” She turned to face him, surprised by the range of emotion she could read in his blue eyes. Normally to see his eyes so closely she had to be yelling at him, angry about some stupid rule or regulation or way he’d stomped on her fun. Or he was yelling at her for some idiotic stunt she’d pulled. But rarely did she have the luxury of looking-of seeing.

Besotted with a high fever, morpha and an infection, she couldn’t really interpret most of what she was faced with-but she saw concern on his features and maybe fear. Something softer too, that resided in the corners of his eyes. Or maybe she was just hallucinating.

“You want a story, huh?” His hand gently traced a line down her cheek and Kara sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. His touch was so different from anyone else’s. She’d never tell him that of course, but it was. Even Sam, in the midst of their lovemaking, hadn’t touched her with this much tenderness.

Sam’s image swam in her mind’s eyes and she opened her eyes quickly, again focusing on Lee. She didn’t want to think about Anders or what would happen if-when-Lee found out. Of course, he had no right to be jealous or angry or hateful. But Kara knew he would be. So was she-at him. Because it hadn’t been Baltar’s bed or even Sam’s she’d wanted to be in. But her stubbornness and his pride and their shared history stood in the way of getting what they really wanted. Or at least, those were the excuses they used.

She didn’t want to apologize for finding comfort in the midst of so much destruction; for getting Baltar to scratch an itch that Lee had rightfully irritated in the first place. Frak, she wouldn’t apologize-she was Starbuck for frak’s sake!

But she still felt guilty, still longed to admit to Lee that what had driven her into the arms of other men was knowing she’d never be in his.

“Kara. Earth to Kara?”

She blinked once, twice and came back to the moment, finding Lee’s again concerned eyes trained on her. “So, you gonna tell me a story or what?”

Lee smiled softly and then rested his hand to her cheek. “Sure, I’ve got one.”

Kara returned the smile and settled in to listen.

---- -----

Kara had been unconscious for over eight hours by the time they made it back to Galactica. Even while transporting her from the Tomb to the waiting Raptor she hadn’t stirred and Lee’s concern had skyrocketed. Starbuck was never calm or docile or at rest. Even when she slept, she kicked off the covers and tossed and turned as if she were sleeping on a stormy sea.

He sat beside her on the Raptor, keeping his hand firmly in hers, not offering his father anything more than one and two word updates. The president, Billy, Zarek, Helo and Sharon had returned on the first shuttle, while Adama and Tyrol had insisted they bring Starbuck and Apollo back.

Adama was piloting and Lee would have protested, knowing he wasn’t healed enough for such a strenuous task. But he was the only other likely candidate on board to guide them home and he wasn’t leaving Kara’s side.

As soon as they’d docked and the door opened, medical personnel and equipment crammed the Raptor’s interior. Ishay ordered him out of her way and Lee reluctantly rose, only relinquishing his place at Kara’s side because he knew the nurse could help her more.

He stood as far out of the way as he could in the small space and watched as the medics worked efficiently, hooking Kara up to an IV, checking her vitals, taking a cursory glance at the wounds above her hip.

“She’s going to be all right, son.” His father’s heavy hand rested on his shoulder. Lee would have shrugged it off, but he just didn’t have the energy. “We got her home. She’s gonna be fine.”

Lee wondered if his father really thought he sounded convincing.

---- -----

“What happened to her?”

Cottle eyed Captain Adama with a raised eyebrow while lighting his cigarette. As he took his first puff, he answered gruffly, “She was shot, Captain. Maybe you’ve heard?”

Lee resisted the urge to punch the man. “Is she all right?”

“I managed to get her fever down a bit which is a good thing and we’ve got her on fluids and nutrients. She was severely dehydrated and malnourished as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes followed the doctor as he moved to make a note in a chart, and sign off on another a nurse had just thrust in his face. Lee really wanted to wring the answers from him, but found again that his will power was holding firm.

“Will she be all right, Major?”

His father’s question of course demanded a prompt answer and Cottle shrugged. “She should be, although I’m worried about that infection spreading to her blood stream. From what I can tell, so far, it hasn’t, but until the antibiotics kick in and the swelling goes down around the two wounds, I won’t-“

“Wait. Two? Helo never mentioned a second gun shot wound.” Lee’s eyes dared the doctor to contradict him.

“Because the second one isn’t a gunshot, Captain. A scan of Lieutenant Thrace shows that she had surgery. One of her ovaries was removed.”

Cottle turned to speak with his father as Lee felt part of his world fall away. He suddenly felt as though he were submerged in a tank of water, making everything around him murky and unclear. What in the name of the Gods would the Cylons want with Starbuck’s ovary?

A million sick and twisted scenarios sprung to mind and Lee fought to forget them all. “Was she-“

“Raped?” Cottle seemed to have anticipated the question and turned to face him. “No. If the Cylons took the ovary in an attempt to reproduce, they didn’t try it the old-fashioned way first.”

“Do you think that’s what they want? To reproduce?” Adama’s expression was a hard mask of indifference even though Lee knew he was feeling anything but. It was something he’d always envied in his father-his ability to stand straight and tall even while things blew up around him. Lee had never been that level headed.

“The Gods only know what they want.” Cottle was almost to the end of his first cigarette and he quickly stubbed it out and lit another. Lee idly wondered what he’d do when he ran out. “Based on what Lieutenant Agathon told me, it appears that the Cylons are interested in reproduction, having children. Until I talk to Lieutenant-the one he brought back, I won’t know much more.”

Cottle glanced between the two of them and Lee thought he saw a flicker of compassion on the man’s face, before it was again hidden by his gruff exterior. “Of course, it could have just been a way from them to frak with her. Who knows?”

As he turned to leave, Lee asked, “Can I see her?”

With a shake of his head, Cottle answered, “Not yet. Until that infection is under control, she’s to remain isolated. I’d say you have about six, maybe eight hours before it’ll be safe for her.”

Lee wanted to tell him that was unacceptable, but again, his father’s strong hand clamped around his shoulder and the words caught in his throat.

“Thank you, doctor.”

Cottle shrugged and shuffled off, leaving Lee standing beside his father with potent fear and not a little bit of rage rushing through him. “What did they do to her, dad?”

“I don’t know, son.” The commander suddenly sounded much older than his years. Turning slightly, Lee caught the paleness in his features and the tiredness in his eyes and quickly directed him to the nearest seat.

“You’ve got to get some rest.” Lee eyed the Old Man, thinking that he was finally starting to live up to the moniker. “My guess is you shouldn’t have come down to Kobol. You’re not well enough yet.”

“I couldn’t leave you all down there.” Tilting his head back against the wall, Adama breathed deep for a few moments before adding softly, “I had to fix what I’d broken.”

“You didn’t break us, dad. It was the Cylons.” Lee felt that rage churn in his gut until he could almost taste it. He had the distinct urge to race down to the brig and end Boomer’s life, but he swallowed it down. He knew she wasn’t the same Cylon who had killed his father, but she looked the same and Lee had a hard time believing there was really a difference.

But Kara had trusted her and Lee trusted Kara, so he would do his best to keep his murderous feelings at bay.

“We all need to rest.”

Lee glanced back to his father, noting that his blue eyes were open again and fixed on him. He could see the start of an admonition on his lips and Lee rose hurriedly, hoping to escape it. He was in no mood for a lecture.

“Good idea. Page me the minute something changes.”

Adama’s response was lost to Lee as he all but sprinted out of Life Station.

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Three hours facing the heavy bag and Lee still didn’t feel any better. More tired, certainly, but not better. He’d hoped that punching the bag would abate some of the anger that continued to fuel his blood, but it just wouldn’t go away. All he could see was Kara lying helpless on the floor of the Tomb; all he could imagine was what she had suffered at the hands of the Cylons; all he could wish was that she’d wake up soon.

With one last right hook, Lee left the bag swinging on its chain and staggered back, sitting on the nearest bench. Frak, he was tired. He’d barely slept on the Astral Queen, finding his first few hours after committing mutiny to be less conducive to rest then he’d ever imagined.

As he reached for a water bottle and took a drink, he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his features. Holding a gun to Tigh’s head had totally been worth a few sleepless nights.

“Captain?”

Lee was too exhausted to be alarmed at the sudden intrusion. Turning slowly, he caught sight of Lieutenant Agathon standing hesitantly in the doorway and scowled. “What?”

“I was hoping you could tell me about Kar-Lieutenant Thrace. The marines won’t let me anywhere near sick bay.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t locked you in the brig.” Lee used his teeth to pull off one of his gloves and then removed the other, throwing them down with unnecessary force to the ground at his feet. As he ripped at the tape covering his hands, he added, “I guess collaborating with the enemy isn’t call for treason anymore.”

“Apparently holding a gun to the XO’s head isn’t either.”

Lee snapped his eyes to the man’s face, noting the completely blank look on his features. Seeing his superior officer’s accusatory gaze, he added softly, “Sir.”

For a moment, he considered calling the other man up on insubordination charges and marching his tall ass down to the brig. But just as quickly, Lee dismissed the thought. He was just too frakking tired to care.

“Lieutenant Thrace should be fine.” He wadded up the sweaty tape and rose, picking up his gloves and putting them away. As he threw the tape into the garbage, he added, “She’s resting now. The doc’s keeping her isolated to make sure the infection is really gone.”

“Thank the Gods,” Agathon breathed behind him and Lee resisted the urge to curse the same deities. He felt no gratitude toward them, not after what they’d let Kara endure. “I’m glad to hear that, sir.”

“Lieutenant.”

Lee turned to see Agathon glance back at him, one foot already across the threshold. “The doc said that Starbuck has two scars. What do you know about the second one?”

The taller man shrugged. “Nothing, sir. When we got her out, I asked her about it. She just shrugged it off and said it was nothing. I knew that wasn’t the truth, but we had to get out of there. I didn’t really-“

“That’s enough.” Lee waved off his explanation. “It wasn’t an accusation, Agathon, just a question.”

“Helo.”

What the hell did that mean? Lee looked to him confusedly and the other man explained, “My call sign. It’s Helo, sir.”

Lee nodded once. “Helo. Nice to meet you.”

The lieutenant smiled and Lee saw sincerity in the expression. “You too, sir.”

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Kara woke up with the familiar sensation of something sharp and burning sticking in her forearm and she immediately started to moan. She couldn’t be back there, not again. Not with those damned Cylons and their creepy farm where they’d been trying to impregnate human women-rape them in an effort to create more skin jobs to infiltrate the Fleet and wipe out the rest of humanity.

She knew she must have been recaptured; why else would she feel so terrible? She had a vague memory of a green planet with trees and grass and stars and Lee, but Kara was sure that had been a dream. She had woken again faced with the nightmare of being used as an incubator for Cylon procreation.

Forcing her eyes open, despite the heaviness that weighed on her lids, Kara reached for the IV, determined not to let Simon keep her in a drugged state of submission. Instantly, she panicked, as she realized her arm would not move. She was strapped to the bed, her arms and legs held down by restraints and Kara let loose with the loudest howl her depleted body possessed.

It brought everyone running.

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Lee had just returned, ready to wait for the all clear and go see Kara the minute the doc said it was all right, when he heard her pained cry. Sprinting the last few feet to the isolation room’s door, he was met by Ishay who was quickly donning a suit meant to protect Kara from any wayward germs or bacteria.

They didn’t have that kind of time. Lee could see Kara thrashing about, tugging at her restraints so violently there was already evidence of blood around her wrists. “Open the door,” he ordered, glancing to Ishay as his heart hammered in his chest every second he watched Kara in pain.

“I’m sorry, sir, but the doctor said-“

“Open the frakking door!” He would apologize later, but right now all Lee wanted to do was get inside that room.

Ishay reconsidered and in a second the door had moved aside, allowing Lee to enter. He rushed to Kara’s side, reaching first for the bindings at her wrists even as he tried to calm her down.

“Kara, you’re all right. It’s okay.”

He freed one wrist and went to work on the other when her fist connected with his temple. It wasn’t a very strong punch, she didn’t have the leverage or the strength, but it caught Lee off guard enough to cause him to stumble.

“Frak, Kara.”

“Let me out of here.”

Staring at her, Lee blinked to clear his vision and really saw her. She was as delirious as he’d seen her on the surface and he knew she had no idea where she was.

“What the frak are you doing in here?”

Cottle entered, pushing past Lee and heading for Kara’s side. Despite the warnings of contamination, he still had a damned cigarette hanging from his lips. “She was hurting herself. Why was she restrained?”

“Because she was hurting herself,” Cottle barked, taking the offered needle from Ishay, the only one of them in the proper attire. “She kept clawing at the bandages, we were worried she’d-“

Kara, who had stilled once the doctor entered, chose that moment to act. As Cottle stepped towards the IV tube, she lashed out, striking across herself and aiming for the doctor.

Too weak and uncoordinated to cause any damage, Kara almost fell out of the bed and Cottle and Ishay struggled to grab her. Lee leapt forward, reaching for her shoulders and pulling her back as Cottle managed to slip the sedative into her IV.

“Come on, Kara. Back to sleep.”

“Lee?”

He took a breath and then met her eyes, his heart beating even harder as he saw tears forming and her pale face almost crumpled completely. “I’m here, Kara.”

“Don’t let them hurt me. Please. Not again.”

“No one’s going to hurt you, Kara.” Lee squeezed her close and pressed a kiss to her hair as she sighed heavily and again passed out. Taking a deep breath, Lee held her tight for a moment more, before reaching across her body and undoing the restraint on her other wrist.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Cottle was obviously still pissed, but Lee kept working.

“She freaked out when she woke up with these things on her.”

“She was in very real danger of hurting herself before, captain. The restraints are necessary.”

“Not anymore.” Freeing her opposite wrist, Lee shoved the restraint off the edge of the bed and then gently laid Kara down. Making sure she was comfortable, he moved to the end of the bed and uncovered her feet, intent on removing those bindings as well. “I’ll stay with her. If she tries to hurt herself, I’ll stop her.”

“My Gods, you’re stubborn as a mule.” Cottle eyed him harshly as he worked on the bindings. “You shouldn’t be here anyway. I’m still worried about the infection getting worse.”

Recovering her now free feet, Lee glanced to the doctor and pointedly stared at his cigarette, before rounding the edge of the bed and sitting at Kara’s side once more. “We’ll be fine.”

Cottle muttered a few other unkind words under his breath, but Lee ignored them. Instead, he focused all his attention on Kara who, even though she was heavily sedated, had somehow managed to turn into his side as he made himself comfortable beside her.

He shouldn’t have left her in the first place. Lee hated when duty and common sense kept him from doing what he knew in his heart was right. It had happened far too often since he’d become an officer and even more so since he’d come to Galactica. Especially because it seemed everything his heart wanted was currently lying beside him.

Lee had known he was in love with Kara Thrace long before he’d finally admitted it a few days ago. Hell, he’d known it long before the end of the worlds, before he’d shown up on Galactica. He’d known it for years, ever since his baby brother had introduced them.

He had released his guilt over that years ago-he’d had to in order to preserve his sanity. It had been the worst after Zak’s death. Lee had acutely felt the betrayal of falling in love with his dead brother’s fiancé as he’d stood at his mother’s side and watched Kara hold it together on the other side of the coffin.

Lee sighed and blinked away the memory of that day. It had been so long ago now. He’d left Caprica after the funeral content on never seeing or hearing from Kara again, convinced he would have to find a way to drive her from his heart. He’d never imagined they’d be one of the last two people standing once the Cylons had executed their destruction of humanity. He never imagined that he’d have a chance to love her-or that she might love him in return.

He wanted to believe that was true, that Kara did have feelings for him that went beyond friendship. She had never told him of course, but he thought he’d caught glimpses maybe-the day after the attacks when he’d helped her out from under her Viper and she’d held his hand for a ridiculously long amount of time; after she’d returned from the red planet with a busted knee and an offer for him to give her a bath; Colonial Day, when she’d worn that unbelievable dress and danced with him, hip to hip, cheek to cheek.

Of course, like an idiot he’d let Baltar cut in and then had been stupid enough to be distracted by duty and responsibility so that by the time he’d had a chance to look for her again, she’d disappeared with that weasel at her side.

Punching her in the hangar bay that day had been his low point. Lee wasn’t proud of it and never would be. It was only after Kara had returned from Caprica and willingly come into his arms that he’d let himself believe they might be able to move past it.

Now, as he held her close to his side, watching the monitors that told him she was alive, did he truly believe they had to. He couldn’t live without her, and he wanted to stop trying.

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Read Chapter 3

kara/lee, apollo, starbuck, battlestar galactica, bsg

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