Title: Twelve Hours Later, Thank You Toasters
Author: GEM
Date written: 8/1/07
Rated: K+
Word count:
Story Timeline: season 2
Category: Drama
Warnings: none
Characters: Cottle, with sprinkles of A/R
Summary: Cottle thoughts and actions during his time away from Galactica.
Spoiler: Scattered, Valley of Darkness, slight mini mention.
Author's Note: A great big thank you to Vangoghgoadmirer for her beta and the title.
Jack Cottle was about to retire. This was supposed to be he last tour; then the cylons attacked and everything changed. He went from military doctor to humanity's last resort. Yes, there were other doctors within the fleet but Jack Cottle was the most experienced. He was also the most sarcastic.
Today was like any other day. The morning was delegated to the crew; the rest of the day was delegated to the fleet. Fifty thousand survivors jammed in a hundred odd ships. The medical implications were a nightmare. All it would take would be one person to get the Caprican Flu and their population would be severely diminished in a matter of weeks.
Doctor Cottle was trying to prevent that from happening. That is why he was making a stop on the Rising Star this afternoon. He had gotten word from his contact that two people were showing early signs of the sickness. Add to that the one little girl he had to check on from last week and you get one busy day. What Jack Cottle didn't know was his busy day was about to get a whole lot busier with a few nightmares along the way.
Peyton was doing just fine. Jack really liked little kids although the crew on Galactica would never have guessed. The little girl had fallen and cracked open her head last week. She was rushed over to Galactica by one of the Raptors and Cottle stitched her up. Today the stitches were coming out.
The little girl was scared when she saw the doctor coming they hadn't exactly had a first happy meet. Jack was minus his customary cigarette and offered a small smile to the girl as he entered the room. Peyton was hiding behind her mother and her mother was trying to get her to come out.
"Don't worry about it. She doesn't exactly have happy memories of me." Cottle knelt down and reached into his pocket. "Peyton, I have to remove the stitches. So what do you say if mom puts you up on the bed and I give you this." Cottle show the girl a lollipop, one of the last in existence to be sure.
The little girl smiled and allowed her mother to move her. Jack handed her the lollipop and began to remove the stitches. Peyton didn't scream or squirm she just enjoyed her treat while Jack took care of her.
As Cottle was walking to meet his next patient the pilot who fly him today came running down the corridor almost colliding with one of the crewman on the Rising Star. "Slow your ass down soldier or I am going to have more work to do here."
"Sorry sir."
"I have an urgent message from the Galactica." The ECO's hands were shaking.
Cottle took the paper from him and as he read it his face went pale. "How fast can you get me back there?"
"Twenty minutes, Sir."
"Well then let's get a move on and hope the old man has that long." Jack ran quickly back to the raptor with the young ECO.
--
The trip was the longest Jack Cottle could remember and little did he know it was about to get a lot longer.
"Holy Frak."
"What is it?"
"Cylons Sir. The fleet's just been given orders to jump."
"How long until we reach Galactica."
"We're still fifteen minutes out, Sir."
"Damn it!" Jack knew they wouldn't reach Galactica in time. They would have to meet up with them on the other side of the jump. Jack felt the FTL kick in and let out a sigh of relieve when the reached the other side.
Jack looked out the window of the Raptor and his stomach dropped again Galactica was nowhere to be seen. "Where the hell are they?"
"I don't know sir."
"Did you jump to the right coordinates?" Cottle asked in his sarcastic way, shoving an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
"Yes Sir, these were just updated and I have Colonial signals all around just no Galactica." Jack lit the cigarette and leaned back sending a prayer to who ever would listen.
--
What followed was perhaps the longest five hours of his life. He thought of Bill Adama lying in sickbay, bleeding out. He left Ishay in charge while he was gone. She was good, should have become a doctor but didn't. If he was in trouble she was the person he'd want to have work on him if a doctor wasn't available. Still her training wouldn't prepare her for everything she would face from what he'd heard.
The old man had been shot twice in the chest at almost pointblank range. Ishay was good but the old man needed him. Jack knew that for sure. His mind turned to Laura. Bill was pigheaded for sure he stuck her in the brig because he was mad at her but in truth Jack knew the reason was that Laura had hurt Bill. Bill was to stubborn to realized that he was in love with her and Laura was in love with him. Jack had watched them for month. They had come to rely on one another but had yet to acknowledge the forces at work around them, instead the hid behind their duties. Frankly, if the old man survived this disaster Cottle was going to make damn well sure that though two faced reality.
Jack Cottle just shook his head thinking about those two. He would lock them in a room together if he had too but they were going to work it out. The Raptor returned to the Rising Star while the fleet waiting and hoped Galactica would return. Cottle saw the rest of the patients on Rising Star. When he was done he sat down by a window and hoped against hope that Galactica would come soon.
--
Two hours later Galactica returned. Cottle was running back to the shuttle when Gatea's voice came over a fleet wide radio. "Galactica to all ships in the fleet, do not approach we have been boarded by cylons I repeat to not…." Static filled the speakers. Jack shook his head and sent a few choice words to the Gods.
He spent the next six hours pacing the corridors of the Rising Star. Thinking about his friend lying in his sickbay helpless. I'm sorry Bill, I'm coming as fast as I can. The damn cylons are cooperating but then again they never do.
--
Twelve hours later Jack barreled through the sickbay hatch with a billow of smoke behind him. His uniform jacket was quickly discarded, his cigarette snubbed out. He studied the x-rays quickly and listened to Ishay. The kid did a wonderful job but she must have missed something. Bill was still bleeding. Cottle pushed his way through Tigh and several others so he could scrub in. How the hell was he supposed to know it the old man was going to live? He wasn't a damn physic. What he wasn't to say to Saul was "That the old man was to stubborn to die." He believed it but he still had a lot of work to do and not a whole lot of time to save Bill Adama.