Stranded: Part Seven

A/N: Here's the end – thanks for all the great comments on this! I really loved writing it and I'm glad you all like it too! Yay for BSG! Just about 24 hours to go … woo hoo!

000BSG000

It was good to be back on Galactica, but Kara's body still refused to rest. She had tried and in those first few hours succeeded in getting some sleep – the pain meds Cottle had pushed through her I.V. didn't hurt either. But now that she was awake and more fully aware, Kara found it nearly impossible to close her eyes.

She had to be with Lee.

Against everyone's recommendation she was sitting with him now, his hand wrapped in her own. The room was silent, the only sound Lee's heart monitor as it steadily reassured her that he would be fine.

Kara could barely breathe for relief.

It had been close. After she'd managed to kill Leoben and Lee had passed out, Kara had panicked. Luckily, Sharon chose that moment to appear, bringing a Raptor and fresh medical supplies like a gift from the Gods themselves. It was touch and go there as they worked to get Lee back to the ship and Sharon dodged the Raiders circling the planet. Kara had been so concerned with Lee she didn't even try to fly.

A med team had met them on the flight deck, along with the Old Man, but Kara had ignored them all. She'd ignored the sound of Sam's voice wondering if she was all right and all but decked one of the nurses who had tried to assess her injuries. Of course, her scowl didn't work on Cottle. The old coot simply ordered her to sit on a cot and wait to be checked out. Ten hours later she'd woken to find her mid-section wrapped tight, an I.V. stuck in her arm and the worst case of cotton mouth she could remember.

Then she went to find Lee.

Cottle had told her he'd be okay. That while the broken rib and the infection surrounding the punctured skin were not good, they were treatable. He informed Kara that Apollo would more than likely be out for a few days and that even once he regained consciousness it would be a good two weeks before he saw the inside of a cockpit. But he'd recover.

"Kara."

Her head shot up as she heard the sound of her name pass breathlessly through his lips. Reaching up to rest her hand against his forehead, Kara tried to quiet him. "Shh, Lee, you're okay. Just get some sleep."

Slowly, sleepily, his head rolled to the side and his eyelids fluttered. Kara watched as he forced them open, revealing the smallest sliver of blue. A slow and sleepy grin spread across his face and Kara returned it. "You okay?"

She nodded, worried her voice might give out if she tried to speak. His eyes slid shut again and Kara breathed a sigh of relief. Raising his hand to her lips, she kissed his knuckles softly, muttering a prayer she hadn't spoken in months; one of gratitude.

"Something tells me you shouldn't be in here."

The Old Man's voice should have startled her, but Kara found the gravelly sound more than welcome. Smirking, she turned to him. "Who's gonna stop me?"

Adama held up his hands with a smirk of his own. "Far be it from me. I could order you, but we all know your track record for obedience is spotty at best." Just as Kara formed a protest, the Admiral's eyes drifted to Lee and he added, "At least where my son is concerned."

"I love him."

Kara had no idea what had possessed her to speak so freely. She had barely admitted her feelings to Lee, but apparently she could admit them to his father. She felt her cheeks blush red and Kara focused her eyes on Lee's hand as she cradled his fingers in her own.

"I know."

It wasn't the response she'd been expecting, but it was the one she needed. Kara raised her eyes to his again and felt tears forming there. With a sigh, Adama approached, covering her and Lee's joined hands with his. "Just be happy, Kara." As a lone tear trickled down her cheek, Adama bent and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Just make my son happy."

Unable to speak, Kara nodded once more and focused her attention back on Lee's sleeping face. Once the she heard the Admiral leave, she rested her head on the edge of Lee's bed and let the tears come.

000BSG000

It took Lee two days to regain full consciousness. He was in and out of it for minutes at a time and whenever he managed to open his eyes, he was always confronted with Kara's smiling face. Each time he awoke, he asked how she was, only allowing his body to rest once she had managed to murmur she was fine. He knew it was a lie, but for the moment he'd take it.

He'd been well on his road to recovery for over a week, and now, he was sitting up, albeit cautiously, waiting for someone to escort him to his quarters. Cottle had tried to delay his release, but Lee was tired of being in life station and had seemingly lost his ability to cooperate with the medical staff. So, with the commander's blessing and Kara's assurances that Lee would be looked after, Cottle had signed the release.

"Ready to go?"

Lee glanced up and smiled wide. He still wasn't used to seeing Kara this way – at ease, relaxed. But as she pushed the wheelchair into his room, he was greeted with her smile, a twinkle in her eyes that had been missing for far too long.

"Absolutely," he stated, doing his best to stand up and move towards the chair.

Kara abandoned it instantly, knowing that while Lee's ego told him he could take those few steps, his body had other ideas. He practically fell into her waiting arms and it was only the hours she put in at the gym that allowed her to support his solid form. "Easy flyboy," she murmured, adjusting her grip around his waist and steering him towards the chair. "Nobody needs you to be a hero."

Lee grunted softly as Kara guided him and did his best to fight back the hiss of pain. His ribs were still sore and movement, any movement, was beyond uncomfortable. But the allure of his own bunk and some privacy was too tempting to resist.

"All set?" she asked, kneeling before him and placing his feet on the foot rests. Unable to help himself, Lee cupped her chin in his hand and bent forward slightly. Reading his intent, Kara met him more than halfway, offering him a light kiss. He wanted more, wanted to deepen it, but with another smile, this one mischievous, Kara shook her head. "Not yet, Lee. You're far too hurt and you know it."

Lee let her go with a wistful sigh. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," she murmured, taking her place behind him. Leaning down, she brought her mouth right to the shell of his ear and whispered breathlessly, "Ready to go?"

"You have no idea," he responded, wondering how it was possible for him to go from unaffected to aroused in seconds.

With a chuckle, Kara pressed a kiss below his ear and then straightened, taking him home.

000BSG000

Lee was hurt, but he wasn't dead, so Kara made him do the CAG's paperwork. He bitched and moaned almost as much as she did, but every evening when she came to check on him, he'd have the flight rotations completed and ready for her approval and Tigh's perusal. It was a good system.

Lee knew she was hesitant still, could tell by the way she never sat too close to him and always left shortly after they'd finished eating. He'd tried a half a dozen times to talk to her about what had happened on the planet, about what had happened between them, between her and Leoben, but Kara stonewalled him at every turn. He was used to it and not all that surprised, truth be told. But it was really tiring.

A week after his release from Life Station, they finally had Helo's funeral and that's when it all came to a crashing halt for Kara.

Lee had made it to the ceremony with the help of his father. His eyes had scanned the room for her, but being CAG, she was on the dais, waiting for the Old Man to say a few words, waiting for Sharon to say a few words, waiting for the moment when she would be expected to speak. Lee got as close to the front as he could, hoping she might catch sight of him, hoping his presence might help.

He watched her closely throughout, watched how her eyes never wavered from staring straight ahead, how her posture never faltered from stiff military attention. Only the muscle in her cheek twitched. Lee could see it, pulsing every time someone said Karl's name or callsign; could see it beat every time someone mentioned Sharon or Hera.

When she stepped behind the podium, resting her hands on either side of the wooden stand, Lee could barely breathe. Kara would never forgive herself if she broke down in front of all these people. But considering everything she'd been through, he had no idea how she could keep it together.

However, he refused to underestimate her. She was Starbuck for frak's sake. She could do anything.

"I met Helo back at the Academy. The first night we met, I cleaned him out at the Triad table." A small murmur went through the room as Kara paused, the small smile on her lips indicating she was remembering with fondness. "We were inseparable after that. He was always bailing me out of trouble. Reminding me not to pick fights I couldn't finish and helping me finish the ones I was too stupid to walk away from."

She swallowed hard and Lee saw the muscle pulse again.

"After the attack, I thought he was gone, and that was hard. But we lost so many people in those few hours, he was just one more. When I landed on Caprica and saw him, I thought for sure I'd either joined him in the Elysian Fields or I was dreaming.

"But it was Helo – against all odds Karl fighting to stay alive. No matter what else he was to any of you, he was a hero to me. Surviving on Caprica for so long just proved it."

She paused again and Lee resisted the urge to hobble up there and hug her. He knew she would never accept such an overt display of affection and he knew he'd never make it, but he still wished he could.

"I, uh … I don't know exactly how to move on without him. He told me I'd be okay, that everything would be okay, but …" Lee saw tears glistening in her eyes and murmured a soft prayer to the Gods – give her strength, please.

"But I just don't know how that can be true when he's gone." Unable to say anymore, Kara turned away quickly and fled to the outermost edge of the dais. Lee could barely see her in the shadow, but he could see that muscle in her cheek beating a staccato rhythm.

000BSG000

She had retreated to the observation deck, foolishly hoping that in his condition, Lee would be unable to find her there. But as she heard the door open and his tentative voice, she knew she'd never be able to avoid him.

"Kara?"

She didn't answer him and he wasn't surprised. It was Kara's way – retreating, licking her wounds – and then coming back fiercer than ever.

Lee wondered how much ferocity she had left. Wondered even more urgently if he might be able to help her reclaim some.

He approached cautiously, noting the way her body sat, rigid, tense on the seat. Her knees were pulled up, arms wrapped tightly about them, chin cradled in her knees. Her gaze was on the star field before them. Lee got the distinct impression she was light years away.

Quietly, Lee moved to her side, taking her dress jacket off the seat and filling it with his solid form instead. He wondered where this sudden hesitancy had come from. He'd been sure that after the funeral, after her heartfelt tribute to Helo, the only thing he could do was find her. That seeing her, letting her cry or scream or hit would ease her tension. Now, Lee wasn't so sure.

Maybe there was no way to make this easier. Maybe he couldn't help her. Maybe he just had an overblown idea of his own importance … more specifically, his importance to Kara.

She didn't move as he settled next to her and they sat in silence, Kara still staring at the space beyond. Every seven minutes and twenty-three seconds CAP flew past the observation lounge window, the three ships flying perfectly.

Lee opened his mouth a dozen times or more, searching for something to say that wasn't a platitude. Nothing came.

For her part, Kara simply stared.

After ten minutes of growing discomfort, Lee knew this had been a mistake. Slapping his thighs lightly, he moved to rise, more than surprised when Kara's strong hand wrapped around his wrist. He'd been fairly certain she was oblivious to his presence.

Turning to face her, he saw none of her tension had lessened, but her eyes were no longer focused in the distance. Instead they were intently focused on his own.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked quietly, an immense weight rising in his chest as she nodded once.

With a heavy sigh, Lee settled back against the couch and in seconds, his arms were full of Kara. She leaned over, resting her head on his thigh, curling her arm around his knees

It only took Lee a moment to grasp her other hand, their fingers intertwined tightly as his free hand brushed through her hair.

With a sigh, she allowed her eyes to close. Lee watched her shoulders relax, felt her release the tension as she more or less melted into his side. The only thing that didn't change was her firm grasp on his leg and the tight hold of her hand on his.

000BSG000

"Helo didn't know." The softness of her voice surprised her and Kara cleared her throat once, refusing to meet Lee's gaze, refusing to move. When Lee's only response was an almost imperceptible squeeze of her fingertips, she managed to continue. "Helo didn't know about Leoben."

The words were like glass on her tongue, but Kara forced them past her lips, forced herself to expel the horrid memories each statement brought to mind. "I never told him. Maybe Sam mentioned it, but I never admitted what happened." She snorted softly and then sniffled. "Some friend, huh?

"I didn't want to tell him." Her voice was a whisper and she closed her eyes against the imagined horror on Helo's face as she admitted just what exactly had happened on New Caprica. Why she worried he would pass judgment, she had no idea. Helo was the least judgmental of anyone she knew – had known. The past tense was like a slap in the face and she blinked back the sudden burn of tears. "I didn't want to tell anybody."

She sighed heavily and rose, pushing herself into a sitting position at Lee's side. She forced her eyes to his, seeing her own haunted expression reflected in those amazingly blue depths. "But I think I have to," she whispered. "If I keep living with – with what he did to me, what happened, it'll never be over." Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears Kara was surprised Lee couldn't hear it. "Right?"

Kara felt her fear like a palpable thing and tried to force it down. Tried to remember all the times in their friendship that Lee had proven how much he loved her. Tried to remember all of those thousand things he did every day to prove it, so that she wouldn't run. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to run. She was far too vulnerable.

But, miraculously, Lee knew what to do. In silence, he reached for her hand and Kara gave it to him. Holding her gaze, he nodded once. "You can't let them win, Kara."

Her courage bolstered, she swallowed hard and nodded in return. "I know."

And then she started to speak.

000BSG000