Title:Too Much Pain
Author:NobdyPtclr
Disclaimer:Not my characters, not my show
A/N:A review from Isabellec (thanks again!) made me look closer at Kara's relationship with both Lee and the Admiral. The interaction between Lee and Kara in the season finale brought this to mind. This is not for Lee/Karashippers – she isn't painted in a good light.
As the door clanged shut behind him, Lee leaned against the wall beside it, trying to collect himself. From the look of things, there was no worry that Kara would come after him – she was busy with Anders.
When he'd been summoned to the Galactica by his father, Lee had taken advantage of the opportunity to spend time with Dee. Their relationship was still chugging along in spite of his new assignment, or maybe because of it. A little distance made their time together more special somehow.
In spite of the closeness, Lee had cut their time short, explaining to Dee that he wanted to meet Kara's friend before returning to the Pegasus. He was not surprised that Dee understood his need. She seemed to understand and accept everything about him. There was none of the arguing and pain that marred his friendship with Kara. With Kara everything was a struggle; with Dee there was peace and warmth. He hadn't realized how relaxing that could be.
Still, Kara was like family, and he'd felt an obligation to check up on her and make sure that Anders was okay, that he wouldn't take advantage of her. The thought of anyone taking advantage of Kara made him laugh, but he still fulfilled his sense of duty to her.
Scowling, he pounded his fist against the wall. Obviously Kara didn't need him checking up on her. She'd made that perfectly clear with her actions and her insults. He'd thought that they'd bridged the distance between them – cleared the air – but obviously he'd been mistaken. He wasn't sure what she was trying to prove by putting on that show with Anders and alternately ignoring him and throwing shots at him. A drunk Kara was always bad news – she was never tactful, but alcohol stripped away what few inhibitions she had and made her tongue razor sharp. He'd seen it more times than he could count, but this was the first time in ages that the daggers had been directed at him.
If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he had become used to Kara's angst spilling over onto him. He always tried to intervene and talk her down from whatever tirade about whichever authority figure had pissed her off that day. He listened to her rant, accepted the insults that were invariably directed at him, and helped her back to rationality. Somehow it was different in those situations. Going into it expecting to get slammed was one thing. Walking into it blindly was another.
He sighed. Anders seemed like an okay guy. It was hard to pass judgment on a drunk guy in a few minutes, but he was obviously into Kara, and he – at least – had remembered his manners. His initial feeling was that he should be happy for them, but part of him held back, still stinging from Kara's casual dismissal of Dee. She obviously wasn't interested in his happiness. Or maybe she just couldn't see that a relationship could be more than just fragging.
Shaking his head, he pushed away from the wall. This wasn't something that he could fix in a single conversation – especially not with a drunk and belligerent woman. A small part of him wondered if it was something he could fix at all. Kara made being friends so difficult sometimes.
He glanced at his – Commander Gardner's – watch, and started briskly up the corridor. If he hurried, he could catch Dee before she went back on-duty.