Title: Make a Better Day
Author: meganlynn
Pairing: Lee/Kara, friendship mostly
Date: 3/10/06
Rating: K+
Word Count: 810
Spoilers: Only up to 2.09. Two small lines that could be related to later episodes, but they are not spoilerish.
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
Summary: She panicked for a moment, thinking, Gods, what the hell happened?
Author's Note: The reason that this is set before the Pegasus shows up is because it was the only place my story would work. Of course, this story has relatively nothing to do with "Flight of the Phoenix".
A rare occurrence of a time Apollo and Starbuck flew together, but one of them was a substitute, and it was ruined by the Cylons. There were only three raiders, but one of them had gotten the better of Apollo and he barely made it home. Kara couldn't see exactly what happened, but she went on emotional auto-pilot and took out the other two raiders. When she landed back on Galactica, she tried to better control her shaking hands. She sat in her viper a few minutes longer than necessary. Tyrol came by to see if everything was alright.
"Apollo in sickbay yet?"
"Yes, sir. We got him out immediately. I think he'll be okay. Sir." He didn't look at her as he talked and she knew his mind was elsewhere.
"How's the captain's bird?"
"Scrap metal, sir." She panicked for a moment, thinking, Gods, what the hell happened? She got out of her viper and told the Chief she would stick around and help work on some of the other vipers. He nodded and walked away.
She went to change first and saw Cally sitting on the floor, her back against the wall. She was pale and staring at nothing. Kara looked around and didn't see anybody that seemed to notice Cally looking so scared. Gods, what the hell happened?
"You okay Cally?" She didn't hear her. "Specialist?" She slowly lifted her head, and looked at Kara.
"I'm fine, sir." Kara waited for a reason. Cally looked at her again. "Sorry, sir. Captain Adama just had a rough landing. It was scary. Sir." It was Kara who looked away.
"Tell Chief I'm sorry, but I have other priorities to take care of." Cally nodded her head and stood up to get back to work.
Kara went to her idols and prayed. She was unnerved that it didn't feel weird that she used Lee's name when she prayed for him. It took two days for her to finally visit him in sickbay.
Dualla was Lee's first visitor that he was conscious for. He worked up a small smile for her, aware to the reason she was there.
"Hey Dee, what brings you by?"
"Just wanted to see how you were doing, sir." She smiled.
"You were spying on me for the commander." He saw Kara walk into sickbay.
"I wasn't spying."
"Starbuck, you feeling okay? You look like you're in sickbay willingly," Lee yelled, calling to Kara's presence.
She grinned and greeted him, "Captain."
He looked back to Dee. "Tell my dad I'm fine now."
She gave him a look before saying, "Of course, sir." She smiled warmly at him and Kara before leaving. With Dualla gone it was awkward. Lee was never in sickbay for Kara to visit.
She paused before asking her thoughts. "What happened Lee?"
Tired, he told her, "I don't know Kara."
She looked at him sharply. He wasn't hiding, and he wasn't lying. It terrified them both that Lee really didn't know what happened at there. They went out to do their job and Lee screwed up. Six days ago Lee could have ended his hope for a bright, shiny future that neither of them were really going to see, on Earth.
"Well, Apollo, look where you not knowing landed you." She punctuated this by waving her arm around like she was showing him a new room.
"That's the spirit," he mumbled.
She suddenly gripped his hand. She paused before speaking, making sure she had the right words.
"Well, Apollo, next time you go out there, know what's happening. Okay?"
He stared at her a moment before nodding. He looked like he was going to say something before thinking better of it. He gripped her hand tighter.
"It's a better day when you come back alive Lee." She couldn't look him in the eye.
"Then I'll make everyday a good day." He grinned at her, trying to catch her eye.
"A better day and a good day are not the same thing, sorry to burst your bubble," she tells him, when she finally meets his eye and smirks.
He laughs a little. He couldn't ruin the mood. Too many close calls in the past two weeks, makes a man want to say things he usually kept to himself.
"I'd like to talk someday, Kara." She nodded as she smiled. She had to go, she was on shift in a couple minutes.
"Enjoy yourself Captain."
"I'll do my best, Lieutenant."
She breathed as she walked away. She faced her mortality almost everyday head-on, it was hard to face Lee's. He didn't seem to like it much better. She decided to be a little more cautious out there. She thought it would've been nice to fool herself into thinking it was for the Old Man. She laughed to herself, hating that she couldn't even lie to herself.