Chapter Six
He must have dosed off. Movement in the doorway brought him hurtling back to awareness so fast he felt his heart jump. He found that the lights had been dimmed, squinting a little to make out the person silhouetted in the doorway. The light was behind them, making his task all the harder. He ran a hand through his hair, sending it spiking in every direction.
"Helo?" He asked, not sure he was seeing right. He scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, clearing the sleep from them.
"I was looking for the CAG." Helo explained, "I was told you were here. You okay?" He seemed slightly annoyed to fine Lee in bed. Kara was hidden, head tucked under the covers. Lee nodded absently, not really taking in the question.
"What time is it?" He asked groggily, trying to get his bearings. He forced himself to sit up, easing out of the cocoon of warmth his and Kara's bodies had make under the covers.
Helo checked his watch, "Almost five, sir."
Lee pushed the covers back fully, preparing to get out of the bed. "What do you want?" He asked, bluntly.
Helo didn't answer, too busy staring at the bed. Lee's tanks were twisted, crumpled from being slept in. they had ridden up, exposing most of his toned stomach. Lee shoved them down, scowling a little. He glanced up, catching Helo staring hard at the bed, an incredulous scowl on his face. Lee followed Helo's line of sight, ending up on an unmistakable tousled blonde head. Helo frowned, at a loss what to do.
"Helo, it's not what you think." Lee said quickly, standing up. Kara stirred, but didn't wake. Lee moved closer to Helo, lowering his voice. "This stays in this room. Got it?"
The taller man nodded, "Got it, sir."
"Kara's sick… really sick." Lee told him. "The doctor thinks she has a condition called Aplastic Anaemia. Her body isn't producing enough red blood cells."
"Is it serious?" Helo asked, worry etching lines in his face as he frowned.
"Pretty serious." Lee said, "We're waiting for her test results back. She gets them today. The doctor took a biopsy yesterday."
Kara would kill him if she knew that he'd told someone she was sick. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling guilty about sharing her secret. He knew she and Helo were friends, but wasn't sure how close they where. Didn't know how much he should have told the other man. Helo read his expression easily.
"Don't worry, sir. It won't leave this room unless Kara wants it too."
"Thank you, Helo." Lee felt a rush of gratitude for the other man's discretion. "What did you want to see me about?" He asked, sitting on the chair to slip his shoes on.
"It was nothing really. Just a question about the flight roster. It'll keep." He said with a slight shrug.
Kara moaned softly, waking up. Her hip was aching, and she felt exhausted still. Other aches and pains made themselves known as she moved. "Did I sleep?" She asked sarcastically.
"Yup. Like a log." Lee told her, a half smile on his face.
"It doesn't feel like it." She said grouchily.
She pushed herself into a sitting position, stretching as best she could. She rubbed her face with both hands, trying to wake up. Her stomach growled, but she didn't feel like eating. Showing her fingers through her hair, she found it had come loose from its habitual ponytail. She felt around in the bed, finding the ponytail holder. They were hard to come by on the ship.
Finally, she registered the other person in the room. "Helo?" She asked. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a scowl.
"I came by to see the CAG." Helo said. "I didn't know you were in here." He admitted.
Kara glanced at Lee, eyes questioning. "Does he know?" She meant did you tell him?"
"Yes. He knows." Lee admitted, at the same time Helo said "It won't leave this room, Kara. You know I'd never talk about something like this."
Kara nodded, satisfied for the moment. "Just please don't tell anyone." She asked, not quite begging.
"I promise." Helo said. "It goes no further."
"Thanks Helo." She said. She knew that news travelled extremely fast on a ship like the Galactica. She didn't want everyone one on board knowing about her illness.
Helo cleared his throat, a little bit uncomfortable. "So, how do you feel?" He asked.
She almost gave him the standard 'I'm fine' answer, deciding at the last moment that he deserved the truth. "Tired. Sore from the biopsy. A little sick." Her stomach chose that moment to rumble again.
"Have you eaten?" Helo asked the pair of them. They both shook their heads. "Not since breakfast yesterday." Lee said, while Kara tried to think when she had last taken a bite. She came up blank. "Not in a while."
"I'll have some food sent down for you." He said, taking his leave. "I'm on shift in a few." He explained with a shrug. He tried to think of something comforting and encouraging to say to Kara and came up with nothing. He crossed the room, wrapping her in a gentle hug. She hugged him back, whispering a soft thanks in his ear.
With a quick smile to Lee, Helo left them alone. He closed the door over almost halfway, giving them more privacy. Kara swung her legs over the edge of the bed, gingerly lowering herself to the floor. Unlike Lee, she had nothing on her feet and the floor was freezing. "Frack." She cursed softly, holding onto the bed for stability.
"What are you doing?" Lee asked, torn between concern and amusement at the look on her face.
"I need to move; work some of the kinks out." Kara explained. She took a couple of steps, finding that she was steadier that she'd expected. Her progress was brought up short by the IV line. Sometime in the night, it had been replaced by a new, full one. The new bag was still over half full.
Kara glanced at Lee. "Think I can get rid of this thing for a while?" She asked.
"I'll find a nurse and ask." Lee offered, dispersing through the door. On her own for the first time in a while, Kara felt the fear bite at her once more. She was deeply worried at what her test results would show. She wasn't sure that she even wanted to find out what they said.
She felt a sob building and fought it back, using her inner strength not to give into her fear. It had always worked for her before; there was no reason for this time to be any different, she told herself sternly. She had her emotions firmly under control by the time Lee re-appeared, a nurse to his left.
"Let's unhook you." She said, smiling. "Doctor says you can come of this for now." She patted the bed, inviting Kara to sit. Kara did, laying her arm on the pillow that the nurse passed her.
"Good." Kara said absently, watching as the nurse worked. It only took her a few minutes to replace the IV line with a saline lock.
"All done." She said, just as cheerfully.
"Do you know when the doctor's going to have my results?" Kara asked.
"He's planning on coming before nine." The nurse said "He'll get them at about seven."
"Thanks." Kara said, going to stand.
"You're welcome." The nurse said, reaching in her pocket and pulling out a pair of socks. "To keep your feet warm on these floors."
Kara smiled, touched by the simple gesture. "Thank you…" She said, at a loss what else to say.
The nurse just smiled, collecting her equipment and leaving the room. She nearly bumped into one of the kitchen assistants, coming into the room with a loaded cart of food and drink.
Despite still feeling slightly sick, Kara's stomach rumbled as she took in the pile of toast, dish of egg substitute, and the coffee jug. Lee handed her a plate, loading it with three slices of toast. He passed her the spread, and a knife, waiting until she had finished to fix his breakfast.
"Want some egg?" He asked, around a mouthful of the same. It didn't taste too bad, almost like real eggs.
"No, thanks!" Kara said, nibbling a slice of toast.
"It's not to bad, actually." Lee told her, scooping up another forkful. She just shook her head, still on her first slice of toast.
Lee watched her carefully, glad to see some colour coming back into her pale face as she ate and drank. Once she had eaten the first slice of toast, she felt better and eat the next two far quicker, washing it down with a cup of weak, but real coffee.
With breakfast finished, they both stood. "Where next?" Lee asked her.
"Bathroom. I want to have a wash!" She said, starting walking slowly. She felt okay, not like her old self but not too bad considering. Lee hovered close to her, there to give her support if she needed it, but not close enough to be intrusive and piss her off.
They reached the sick bay's small bathroom. Lee chose to wait outside, letting her go first. "Yell if you need me." He told her, seriously.
"I will." She said, matching his serious tone.
It only took her a few minutes to use the facilities and have a wash. She glanced at herself in the mirror, hating the dark circles under her eyes. She rinsed her mouth out with plain water, wishing she had her toothbrush. She came out, holding the door open for Lee. He was just as quick as she had been, coming out with his hair wet. They looked at each other, knowing that they had nothing to do now but wait.
