Catalyst
Summary: Dee is alone in sick bay and gets a visitor who happens to be her savior in more ways then one...Helo and Dee friendship story... takes place after Woman King
maybe a one shot not sure yet
Dee coughed harshly feeling her throat ache as she slumped down in her cot trying to get comfortable. The dreary gray wool covers Coddle had draped over her was itchy hot and irritating, causing her skin to feel slick with sweat. Growling she kicked it off the her and let it drop to the floor where it could cause her no further vexation. She could practically feel the disapproval look her father would have given her if he was here to witness her childish display of her notorious short fused temper. He always said she was an hard headed fussy brat whenever she got sick and she was inclined to agree with him. She hated being stuck on any kind of bed rest and she absolutely loathed feeling like an invalid. Anastasia Dualla always prided herself on being independent and the fact that she felt too weak to even stand on her own made her mood darken even more. A sharp pain tore through her side and she groaned softly trying to block out the pain. Her body ached terribly from the illness she was recovering from and the sedative she had been administered hours earlier was starting to wear off and slowly misery began to settle in. Somewhere in the distance she could hear several of the crew members laughing heartily as they were most likely heading over to Joe's for some drinks. Minutes later their cheerful voices faded and she was alone with her thoughts once more. She sighed wistfully silently wishing she could be out there with them. She rather be anywhere then stuck behind the dreary green curtains on a cot as hard as nails in the dark alone.
The room hummed with the monitors and engines vibrating underneath the ship and it bought a small smile of comfort to her lips. The eerie sounds of the ships always had a strange soothing affect on her. It was like a sweet lullaby that she would never get tired of hearing. Sometimes when Lee was fast asleep she would sneak out of their sleeping quarters and sit out on box of metal crates in the most quiet corners of the ship and just listen to the sounds of the ship.
After the whole revelation of the doctor on board being a racist murder Dr.Coddle had insisted she stay over night in sick bay so that he could monitor her for any signs of her symptoms getting worse. She smirked as she realized he had a strange way of "monitoring." He had stepped out for a break and that had been an hour and he had yet to return. She licked her parched lips desperately desiring a drink of water. Moving slowly, she sat up and painfully walked towards the doctor's desk where he kept a pitcher of water and a glass on a silver tray. Every few seconds she had to stop walking feeling a wave of nausea and exhaustion wash hit her relentlessly. A film of sweat gathered on her forehead and the room began to spin very slightly causing her to stumble back.
"Oh my gods," she whispered light headed as she began to bump into things causing several items to go crashing to the floor. Gripping the edge of the desk her eyes rolled in the back of her head as she felt the last ounce of control t hat she had over her body slip away.
Suddenly she was starting to think getting out of bed wasn't such a good idea. She thought she heard her name being called from a distance but before she could register anything more, she felt a shortness of breath and weakness in her legs causing them to shake slightly.
Feeling faint she felt her legs give out from beneath her and she went crashing towards the ground. Suddenly she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her catching her nano seconds before she hit the floor. She gazed up at the face towering over hers struggling to recognized it, but her vision was blurred and the room was too dark and was spinning out of control.
"I got you, Dee. I got you." The voice was masculine and comforting to her ears.
"Lee?" his name barely made it off her lips before everything went dark.
Helo sighed frustrated as he laid in his bed unable to sleep. Beside him Sharon snored softly obviously oblivious to his restlessness. The alarm clock next to his head on the night stand warned him that he only had a couple of hours left before his morning shift in the CIC was to start. Closing his eyes he tried to find rest but his mind was still filled with unease about the events that had taken place earlier that night. His suspicions that doctor Roberts had been killing his patients had been correct and even the admiral had apologized in doubting his judgement. However Helo felt a deep sense of loss. If he hadn't been so doubtful and afraid of angering those in command over him then he could have probably saved a lot more people then he had. He had confided in Sharon on how he felt but he wasn't surprise that the discussion had led to a full scale heated argument. As usual Sharon didn't understand where he was coming from and it frustrated him. She felt that he should do his job and not get so attached. He thought that to be cold and impossible. He had to watch people die and those deaths, especially the ones he felt he could have prevented, stuck with him long after the duty day was over. Moving carefully he climbed out of bed and quietly slid on his sweats and a t shirt and shoes before walking across the room over to the crib where their baby girl was slumbering peacefully. Watching her always managed to soothe whatever dark mood he would find himself in and he found her watching more and more lately. Gently he leaned down and pressed his lips softly against the soft dark curly crown of the Hera's head. She cooed softly still deep in sleep with her small thumb caught between her lips. Starring down at her he was in awe of how tiny and beautiful she was. Quietly he opened the hatch and silently made his way out of his sleeping quarters into the near silent halls of the ship.
Walking around the corner he past several of the mechanic guys stumbling towards their bunks laughing obnoxiously loud. He shook his head amused as the mumbled a noisy respectful greeting in reference to his rank over them. Once they had disappeared down the hall he was left in the silence once more. His thoughts drifted to the events that had took place hours earlier. The woman who had lost her son had somehow managed to find his sleeping quarters and had frantically warned him that Dualla had fallen ill and that she was clearly convinced that she would Dee in the doctor's care. That was when he knew he could no longer afford to extinguish his mounting doubts about the doctor's treatment of the Sagittaron refugees. Dee was a Sagittaron and he couldn't risk her dying under Roberts care. Sharon had demanded that he not get involved which had led to an explosive fight...
"Don't. Don't even think it," she had warned glaring at him.
It had been apparent that she did not approve of his getting involved in the matter in which he was told by the admiral to drop, but he couldn't help himself. Sharon firmly believed in discipline and disobeying a direct order from his superiors did not sit well with her just like obeying it had not sat well with him for the past few days. His gut had been right about a lot of things and with a friend's life hanging in the balance he was not about to
Sharon, it's Dualla. Dualla went down there," he said focusing on getting dressed trying to block out his wife's pleas.
"She has a husband," she protested exasperated.
They both knew Lee was on duty and that he wouldn't be back for some time. Dee had no one to look out for her, and it was no big secret that Dee wasn't exactly the center of Lee Adama's attention these days. The latter was a part of the reason why Helo had been determined to go to her aid aside from his genuine mounting concern for her. She needed someone to watch over her and for many reasons he couldn't express he felt that duty was his to bare. In his experience he realized everyone needed someone.
They had argued before he made it clear to her that he wasn't willing to sit back this time and let another person die when he could prevent it. He had stormed down into the refugee holding area searching frantically searching for Dee. He remembered the chilling moment he had found her and thought she was dead. Her dark face had been ashen and when he had touched her skin searching for a pulse he had found it cold and clammy. So much emotions had surged through him. Some he wasn't ready to acknowledge just yet. Dee was a good friend of his, almost like a younger kid sister he had never had and he had known her ever since she had first started working on the ship. Losing her would have been devastating and he had nearly cried with joy when she had move slightly showing that she was very much still alive.
To Helo Dee was unlike most of the women on the crew. Kara and Sharon both made it clearly they were outspoken strong women, driven by the rush of flying Raptors across the open galaxy. They were adventure seekers. Dee strength was silent and it spoke volumes. She carried her self with grace and dignity and proven her asset as a communications officer was just as demanding as being a Viper pilot. There was a side of Anastasia Dualla that a lot of people never got to see. She was a private person and the very people who confided in her found that she was an excellent listener, and she knew discretion very well. Even the admiral sought her counsel.
He found himself standing outside of the medical clinic and deciding to check up on Dee he gently opened the door and walked in. Maneuvering carefully in the dark room around the dividers protecting other patients privacy he walked over to the area where Dee had been processed and frowned when he found her cot empty and a blanket draped on the floor. He had been there when Dr. Coddle made it mandatory for the lieutenant to stay in sick bay over night, and she had been pretty out of it when he had last seen her so he knew she couldn't have gone too far. A loud crash caused him to race to the other end of the room where Cottle's office was. He rushed into the opening to see Dee swaying dangerously a few feet from Cottle's desk.
"Dee!" he called out concerned.
As he saw her falling he quickly dashed forward doing a improvised baseball slide and catching her in her arms before she could hit the floor. A guard who had been posted outside of the room had heard Helo yell and rushed into the room.
"Is everything alright, captain?" the Sgt asked worried.
Helo glanced at him briefly.
"Go find Dr. Cottle and tell him to get down here NOW!" he ordered firmly. The Sgt. quickly scrambled to carry out the officer's order. Helo turned his attention back to Dee who was whimpering disoriented.
"I got you, Dee. I got you," he murmured, rocking her in his arms.
"Lee?" she barely whispered before passing out.
"Dee! Dee, honey it's Helo C'mon sweetheart. Open your eyes." he coaxed shaking her gingerly,
Her eyes opened slowly to see Helo's concerned face swimming in her vision.
"Helo?" she whispered weakly clinging to him in a state of confusion.
"I'm here Dee. Let's get you off this floor," he coaxed sliding one arm beneath her legs and using the other to support her back before lifting her carefully and effortlessly. She was as light as a feather. He carried her back to the cot where he placed her down gently arranging the pillows beneath her head so that she was comfortable. He was reaching down to pick up the blanket to cover her when she protested.
"No blanket." Her plea was frail and desperate.
Helo nodded and grabbed the steel chair in the corner placing it by her bed before lowering himself down into it watching over intently.
Minutes later Dr Coddle rushed into the room with a half burned out cigarette hanging out of the corner of his lips and his brow furrow with distress at seeing the condition of his patient.
"What the frak happened?" he asked gruffly.
By this time Dee was more oriented and was looking guilty.
"I was trying to get some water," she confessed sheepishly.
Dr. Cottle's face reddened with anger.
"Damn it, Dualla. I told you to stay in bed." His sharp reprimand was cut off by a scathing glare from Helo.
"What the hell were you thinking leaving her down here alone like this? Anything could have happened. She is obviously dehydrated, she could have seriously hurt herself when she fell. If anything would have happened it would have been your fault," he growled angrily.
"I stepped out to get the admiral to sign some papers. I didn't think she would be crazy enough to go wandering all over the place while I was gone," he said defensively.
Dee looked back and forth between the two men and sensing the tension she decided to intervene.
"I'm fine, Helo. Really. I'm just a little thirsty," she coughed lightly.
Cottled snorted.
"I can hook another IV in your arm if that's going to prevent you from moving," he offered half joking.
Dee eyes widened and Helo gave the man another dirty look.
"I really don't think that's going to be necessary, doctor. A glass would be suffice," he said evenly.
The doctor walked away mumbling under his breath what Helo was pretty sure was obscenities towards him, but he decided to let it slide. Moments later Coddle returned with the pitcher and a glass and two pills.
"Take these for the pain. They will also make you drowsy so you can sleep comfortably. Don't drink too fast or you'll get sick," he warned handing her the cup filled with water.
Dee nodded and placed the two small pills on the edge of her tongue swallowing before taking slow sips of the water moaning as the cool liquid danced down her throat giving her immediate relief from her thirst. She returned the cup back to the elderly man and smiled gratefully.
"Thank you."
"Yeah. I gotta get back to the admiral to finish the paper work. Are you going to be fine here alone until I get back or do I have to strap you down?" he asked sternly.
Dee blushed feeling like a little girl being scolded by her father.
"Don't worry, doc. I'll stay here and keep an eye on her," Helo assured.
Cottle 'humphed' before walking away. Dee sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the cot.
"You aren't having the best day are you?" Helo smiled sympathetically smoothing back her hair affectionately.
She laughed softly.
"I would say that is a huge understatement captain."
They sat in a comfortable silence before she spoke again.
"I never got to thank you for coming to my aid. I don't remember much of what happened but Dr Cottle told me that you protected me against Roberts," she smiled.
"He never intended to hurt you," he said modestly.
"It's nice to see that I do have really good friends on this ship that cares about my well being, and what you did for me was very noble. Thank you," she murmured cupping his face in her hands pulling it down on hers and placing a kiss on his cheek.
He smiled ardently down at her feeling his cheeks tint with a warm blush at being so close to her. She smelled so good, like fresh rain and a floral scent. Dee smiled shyly and dropped her hands back in her lap.
"Hey, what can I say? Your indispensable to me and a lot of other people on this ship. Particularly a certain officer of the watch," he said huskily reaching down and lightly brushing an eyelash of her cheek.
"Gaydea?" she giggled softly.
It was a running joke among the crew that Felix Gaydea had a 'thing' for her and she was flattered but she only thought of him as a dear friend.
"C'mon Dee. I see how he watches you in the CIC when he thinks no one is paying attention. He has always had a thing for you," he teased causing her to blush deeply.
"It's a harmless crush. Felix is a great guy, but scuttle butt says he is getting pretty chummy with Lieutenant Seelix," she said amused.
Helo roared with laughter.
"You are kidding me? Seriously, Feelix and Seelix?" he exclaimed between gasps.
Dee laughed as well and soon they both were in tears holding their sides.
"Ow," she giggled feeling a sharp pain in her chest from laughing too hard.
"So what bring's you here? It's late. Don't you have watch in the morning?" she asked when their laughter had died down.
The smile he had been wearing slowly faded and was replaced by sadness.
"I couldn't sleep. I had a lot on my mind. Sharon and I aren't exactly getting along and then there's the guilt," he admitted quietly.
"Guilt?" she asked quizzically.
He sighed heavily raking his fingers through his short dirty blonde hair. He suddenly felt bad for spilling his guts to Dee when she was obviously in really bad shape and needed her rest.
"You know what? Forget I said anything. You need your rest," he said gently.
Dee pierced him with her menacing gaze that made him slightly nervous. It wasn't a look Helo was use to seeing but when she used it he knew she meant business. It was the look that clearly stated she was not going to settle for being patronized and that she meant business and wasn't going to back down. However she softened and gave him as supportive smile.
"Helo," she started, her voice very soft from the lack of energy,"what happened to those refugees was not your fault. You tried to warn the admiral and Coddle about Roberts and they refused to listen. They are going to have to deal with their conscience. You have nothing to feel guilty about."
Her words were soothing and made him feel slightly better but a part of him seem stubbornly determined to wallow in self condemnation.
"If I would have used my judgement and followed my gut instinct I could have saved those people. I sat back and allowed myself to believe everything was okay when I knew it wasn't. If it hadn't been for that woman who son's died warning me, more people could have died. You could have died," he said contritely.
"Karl listen to me," she started gently taking his hand in hers, "what matters is that you tried. I know some racist frakks aboard this ship who would have looked the other way if they found about Robert's killing his patients strictly because they hate my race of people. You didn't turn away. You had the courage to right a wrong and there is a lot of people who owes you their lives."
Helo smiled at her feeling a weight lift from her words. Talking to Dee always seem to manage to make him feel less burdened. Somehow she understood him and that was the strength of their bond and friendship. She understood him.
"So where is Lee? It's pretty late. Shouldn't he back from flying CAP?" she asked worried.
Helo blanched. He had been in the hanger with Lee Adama had arrived from flight practice and that had been an hour ago.
"You mean he hasn't come to see you? He's been back on the ship for two hours now," he said startled.
He didn't miss the flash of pain across her lovely face nor the tears that welled up in her hazel green eyes. The emotions were fleeting as he saw her sat her jaw squarely and fight back the tears reclaiming control over her emotions.
"No. He hasn't come to see me. Maybe he doesn't know what happen which is fine. I don't want to cause him any unnecessary worry," she said derisively.
They both knew that was a lie. The news about the murderous doctor had spread through the fleet like a wild flower and he had been in the CIC when Admiral Adama had given Felix the order to pass the news about Dee's health along on a scrambled line. Helo wasn't clueless. He heard scuttlebutt concerning Lee's and Dee decomposing marriage and while he knew Lee to be cold and indifferent at times he refused to believe the commander could be heartless to knowingly abandon his wife in sick bay.
"Maybe he got held up in the hanger. I'll go get him" He rose to leave, but stopped when Dee grabbed his hand gently.
"No, that's okay. I really can't face him right now. Not like this. The last thing I need is for Major Adama to feel sorry for me," she said bitterly stifling a yawn.
"I know it's really none of my business but are things really that bad?" he asked delicately.
"It's no big secret that my husband is in love with the legendary Starbucks. Apparently she doesn't want to anger the gods by divorcing Anders which pretty much fraks everyone involved. Anders is stuck believing that Kara's heart is truly his and Lee is stuck settling for me. I'm really not surprise he didn't come to see me. He asked me to sacrifice my life to save the one of his lover so nothing inconsiderate that he does surprise me," she said groggily as the pain medicine began to kick in..
Helo swallowed deeply. He truly felt terrible for his friend. She didn't deserve the way Lee treated her. She deserved so much better and the fact that she was in pain because of that husband of hers angered him.
"I'm sorry, Dee," he said quietly trying to hide his disdain in his voice.
She smiled sleepily.
"Well I always have my friends. That is better then having nothing," she said her voice fading.
Get some rest, Dualla. I'll be right here," he murmured holding her small delicate hand in his.
"Helo, you don't have too..." she said inaudibly before drifting off to sleep.
Her eyes fluttered closed as she relaxed beneath his comforting soft touch.
"Yes. Yes I do." His whisper was tender as he gazed down at her beautiful face filled with peace and ease. He remembered the days when she wore that expression in her every day activities. The days before frakkin Lee Adama. She was so much happier...
"Dee..."
His eyes snapped open at the sound of Lee's voice. Helo quickly backed a few feet away from the cot putting distance between him and Dee. The last thing he needed was for her husband and his boss getting the wrong idea. Seconds later Lee came around the divider looking frantic. He rushed to her bedside oblivious of Helo's presence and showered her face with kisses.
"I got the message, and I am so sorry I'm late. One of the engine's in the Viper's blew in the hanger and I was stuck...how are you? Are you okay?" he rambled checking her over carefully as if she was fragile porcelain.
When she didn't respond he shook her gently.
"Dee!" his voice was filled with apprehension and fear as he pressed his ear against her chest listening for a heartbeat.
Helo cleared his throat softly catching the major's attention.
"She's fine sir. Coddle sedated her so she is going to be out for a couple of hours," he said trying to keep his voice neutral. His annoyance with Lee had escalated when he caught the whiskey reeking off of him.
So much for the Viper having a blown engine. Helo swallowed trying to hide the disgust that was evident in his blue eyes hard as stones as he glowered at the major.
If Lee sensed Helo's brooding hostility he either didn't care or was too wasted to acknowledge it.
Lee smiled relieved.
"Tyrol filled me on what happened. He said that the doctor went off the deep end and was murdering his patients. I don't know what I would have done if he..," he trailed off.
The naked fear he heard in Lee's voice caused his hardened expression to soften somewhat. Lee may be guilty of being preoccupied with Kara, and having his priorities frakked up but the man truly seemed to care about his wife to an extent and that in Helo's book counted for something.
"Thank you for what you did for her. I owe you one," Lee said gratefully extending his hand.
Helo forced a smile and shook the major's hand.
"I was doing my job," he said humbly nodding at the other man before turning to leave the clinic.
Helo took one glance back at the couple. Lee was standing over his wife stroking her hair affectionately talking softly to her while she slumbered. Dee was okay, for now anyways. Tomorrow would be a whole different story. Smiling sadly he turned and walked out of sick bay.