Recollection by Ancarett (Rating PG-13) Written for the Last Frack Challenge at LJ's BSG1000 community. Lee/OFC (pre-mini-series)
Her name was Shelley. He was pleased that he remembered that immediately upon waking in a strange room.
He didn't know exactly how they'd fallen into bed together and that bothered him. His head was pounding, his mouth was dry and his memory of the previous evening was cloudy at best.
But here they were, together in the rumpled bed they'd shared, her dark hair fanned out against the sheets. He heard her deep, even breathing and knew some relief that Shelley wouldn't wake up right now to talk. Lee wanted to work out the events that had led to this encounter before he had to talk to her.
A party with drinking. That was a no-brainer, given the hangover and his vague memory of noise and a press of bodies at the housewarming party for Tiny, a newly retired pilot from Lee's squadron. As he worked back in his mind, he recalled stepping out to the balcony for some relative peace and quiet. Shore leave was always a bit stressful for Lee: besides visiting his mother, there was nothing for him, planetside. But on the balcony he'd been approached by a young woman who didn't seem to recognize him as a famous pilot or want to drag him off to dance. They'd sat and discussed the problems of censorship as the party had ebbed around them and had a few too many of the potent drinks that Tiny, a muscular, bald Aquarian, had pressed upon all of his guests and. . . . Lee pillowed his head on his hands and sighed.
And somehow he'd ended up coming back with her to her apartment. They'd both been a little bit tipsy, Shelley spinning extravagantly, singing a popular song off-key and smiling up at the stars, Lee smiling indulgently at her giddiness. She'd kissed him a thank-you for the walk home and somehow it had gone a bit farther than he, at least, had expected. Somehow they'd made their way into the apartment, still connected. She led him backwards, with a soft hand and breathless kisses, to her bedroom. In the moonlight, they'd shed clothes and knelt upon the bed, kissing, moving, feeling.
It had been . . . very enjoyable, Lee admitted to himself. Losing himself in the moment wasn't one of his strong points. He tended to overanalyze matters of the heart, unlike his brother, Zack, who'd always gone after what or who he wanted with no hesitation. Thinking of Zack brought a tightness to his throat and Lee clenched his jaw, willing the memories and anger away. That was two years ago. He had to move on.
Maybe this was part of that moving on. A year ago he was still too focused on his grief and rage to do more than be polite at public events. He'd smoothly but firmly turned down the occasional passes that came his way as they did with any Viper pilot. But lately he'd been thinking that it was time to rejoin the living. He'd toyed with the idea of leaving the fleet, maybe taking up a civilian piloting position or retrain for something that would get him far away from spaceships and all they entailed. Mom would like that.
And then he could meet a nice girl like Shelley and settle down. Heck, maybe even Shelley, though he honestly didn't know enough about the girl, despite sleeping with her, to know if she could be the right one. But if he left the fleet, he could take his time, look around, see if he could find someone who could tolerate all of his foibles and someone who wouldn't drive him crazy with her own tendencies, as well. Settle down, raise a family, be a good father who was home, every night, for his kids. Leaving the fleet sounded even better when he thought about the orders he'd received, assigning him to the Galactica to participate in her decommissioning ceremony.
But, right now he was in a strange bed with a woman he barely knew and dawn was brightening the room. Soon he'd have to leave and catch the Raptor back to the Hesperus. He sighed and heard a rustle, next to him.
"Hey." Lee rolled over and smiled at Shelley's sleepy greeting.
"Hey," he gently returned. She smiled and clutched the sheet to her chest before narrowing her eyes. One hand rubbed her temple and she grimaced.
"Ooooo, I had too many of those drinks. Way too many." She squinted at the window. "It's still pretty early."
"But I've got to go. I have to ship back out in a few hours." Lee swung his feet over the side of the bed and started gathering discarded bits of his uniform. Pulling on his briefs and undershirt, he turned and realized that the silence had grown uncomfortable. Shelley was looking down at the sheet, tracing a pattern with one finger.
He leaned over to tip her chin upwards with a gentle touch. "I'm sorry," he said, then, at her frown, hurriedly went on, "I mean, I'm sorry I have to leave so soon. This was. . . nice and I'd like to have more time with you. I'll. . . be back on Caprica in a few weeks. Maybe we could get together then?" She smiled at his explanation and he relaxed. This wouldn't be as bad as he thought.
Shelley reached over to her bedside table. Grabbing a small pad, she scribbled something down and handed it to him.
"My number," she explained. "Let me know when you're coming into Caprica City. It could be fun." After pulling on his grays, Lee pocketed the paper and leaned over to give her a chaste goodbye kiss.
"I'll let myself out," he offered and waved from the doorway.
He found the paper still in his dress uniform pocket after boarding the Galactica. For some reason, he's kept it in his locker – a memento of yet one more person who shouldn't be forgotten.