Despite not wanting to, Kenzi had no control over her self-conscious mind at this stage of the game.
"All right, nuggets. Today is your training flight. If you don't think you can handle it, beg off now. I will not have a pilot in the cockpit that can't handle themselves," Kenzi said, looking over the trainees. She had taken the flight instructor position after her sister was transferred to Galactica, after the death of her fiancee. She had never met Zak and only talked about him with her sister. Kenzi wasn't aware the Lee was Zak's brother. Lee wasn't aware that Kenzi and Kara were related.
Kenzi didn't know why she'd never put it together that Kara and Lee were talking about the same Zak. Of course, Lee hadn't talked about him by name because it was too hard for him.
Kenzi was prepared for the preflight. All her trainees were in their cockpits ready to see if they had what it took. Kenzi had faith in her teaching abilities, but she didn't have blind faith in the pilots.
Lee knew Kenzi was supposed to fly with her trainees today, so he'd left the Fleet headquarters to catch the flight. He positioned himself with a group of eager cadets, hoping for a shot at flying.
The flight was perfect for the first 30 minutes. Then, during the weapons free drill, one of the cadets got nervous. Kenzi tried talking them down, but they weren't listening.
While Lee was watching, the cadet flew directly into Kenzi's Viper. The explosion was deafening. The trainee had ejected and was floating to safety.
Lee's heart stopped. He couldn't see Kenzi. He hadn't seen her eject and he immediately thought the worst had happened. He ran toward the explosions, seeing Kenzi's plane hit the ground.
Crews responded and Lee was pushed to the edge of activity. He couldn't get close to see what had happened, but he felt like screaming because he knew, almost certainly, that Kenzi was dead.
Kenzi hit eject just as the other Viper collided with hers. The explosion knocked her unconscious and she was hit by a piece of debris from the plane, causing severe injuries. Her last thought was that she was sorry Lee had to go through this again.
Lee looked behind him and saw a pilot's ejection seat floating to the ground. He ran toward it and saw it was Kenzi. He called the medics to his location and ran toward his love. Her helmet was cracked and she appeared to have serious injuries. The medics cut her out of her chair and put her on a stretcher, rushing her to the hospital.
It took two hours for the doctor to tell anyone Kenzi's condition. Her mother arrived and Lee couldn't believe her mother's attitude about the accident. "She knew this would happen," she had said. She notified the doctor not to bother her unless her daughter died. She'd done all she could for her.
Lee had wanted to scream at the woman for her callous disregard of Kenzi. Kenzi had mentioned her mother and she weren't exactly friendly. He hoped her father had been contacted because he knew Kenzi was close to him.
The doctor eyed Lee with concern. "Are you with Miss Brennan," he asked.
"I'm her boyfr...fiancee. We live together," he said. He hoped that being her fiancee would change how they viewed him and give him information.
"Of course. Miss Brennan is very critical. She has a concussion and a broken leg. However we're most concerned about the internal bleeding. We've stabilized her and are taking her to surgery. We'll let you back before she goes in, if you would like," he said.
Lee nodded and followed the doctor back to see Kenzi. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.
Her face was red, like she had a sunburn, and swollen. Her left eye was starting to blacken. Her hair was matted with blood from the cut on the side of her head. Thanks to her flight suit, her skin hadn't been scraped, but her leg was swollen from the injury.
Lee couldn't imagine what his life would be like if he lost Kenzi. He was determined to see her through this, marry her and keep her safe and by his side.
He kissed her face and told her he loved her. The orderlies rushing around to take Kenzi to the operating room to repair the internal damage. Lee was left sitting in her hospital room, reminding him of the viewing the family had for Zak following his death. He'd never made it out of his cockpit alive.
Kenzi's memories of that day had come from Lee's recollection of the accident.
All Kenzi remembered was the pain she felt physically and the pain she saw reflected on Lee's face as he watched her recover.
She had survived the accident and Lee remained at her side, staying at the base instead of flying, so he could be near her.
She was out of commission for six weeks. After that time, she was allowed to return to full duty and Lee resumed his flight teaching duties. She returned as an instructor as well, but wasn't flying. At least that's what Lee had thought.
Kenzi didn't need to hear him to tell he was pissed at her the day he'd arrived to surprise her and she was landing a Viper.
"What! Are you frakked," he'd asked her.
"I was flying," she said.
"I know, but do you think you should get back in the cockpit after what happened," he said.
"It wasn't my fault and I'm fine now. I have to get back up there, Lee. You know how much I love flying," she had said.
"I thought we'd agree you wouldn't fly any longer," he said.
"No, you SAID I wasn't going to fly any longer. I can make my own decisions," she said to him before turning around and heading to the locker room to change out of her flight suit.
Lee had left and headed for home. He was glad Kenzi was back to 100 percent, but he was also upset that she hadn't given his feelings any consideration.
Kenzi came home and found Lee sitting at the dining room table, eating dinner.
"Still mad," she asked, getting a plate for herself.
"I'm not mad. I'm scared," he said.
"It's a risk we take as pilots, Lee. You know that," she said.
"I know that, but I can't stand the thought of losing someone else I love because of a flight accident. You survived this one. How can you be sure you will the next one," he asked, putting his fork on his plate.
"How can you? Don't you think I worry about you all the time when you're off flying? Don't you think I worry I'M going to get the call about an accident. I love you, but if you're trying to put me in some kind of box, I won't stay," she said.
Lee eyed Kenzi. He cleared his throat and told her of his promotion. "I'm supposed to head to Picon for some training before returning here to a Captain rank," he said.
Kenzi jumped out of her seat and hugged him. "That's great," she said.
"I want you to come with me," he said.
"I don't think they'll transfer me," she said. "I'll stay and you can come back when you're training is done," she added.
"I want to marry you," he said.
Kenzi stood up. "Marriage? That's a huge step, Lee," she said.
"I know, but we've been together for a while now and I thought you might like to get married," he said.
"I would love to marry you," she said.
"Good. You can resign your commission and come with me as my wife. You can get something back here after my training is done," he said.
Kenzi looked at him like he'd grown three heads. "Resign? No," she said.
"Come on, Kenzi. You can come with me if you're a civilian," he said.
"This is because you don't want me to be a pilot. You want to protect me. News flash, Lee: I can take care of myself. You met my mom, you know I didn't get any help from her growing up. I can make my own decisions," she said.
"Please, Kenzi," he asked.
"When do you leave for your training," she asked, turning away from him.
Lee reached out to touch her shoulder, but Kenzi stepped out of his touch. "Tomorrow afternoon," he said.
"Fine," she said. She kissed him before heading into their bedroom and putting her stuff into a bag. Lee stood dumbstruck as Kenzi left their apartment. Lee ran outside after her, but she had disappeared with the crowd.
His spirit crushed, he went back inside and sat on the couch. He knew he had to get ready to leave, but he didn't want to go. He wanted to be with Kenzi, but he couldn't handle the thought of her dying like his brother.
He left the apartment the next morning to leave for Picon. Kenzi arrived shortly after he'd left and gathered her things.
She left a note for Lee telling him that she loved him and wanted to marry him, but she couldn't marry him until he accepted her choices. She wished him a happy life and hoped the gods smiled upon him.
When Lee arrived back from his training he wasn't surprised to see Kenzi had left. He'd been expecting it, but seeing her stuff gone was almost too much for him to take.
Kenzi hadn't expected to leave him, but moving to another apartment and taking a posting outside of Fleet headquarters, assured Kenzi she wouldn't run into Lee. When she had the opportunity to go for advanced fighter training in the new Vipers, she jumped at the chance.
Then the Cylons hit.
Kenzi wanted to come out from the darkness, but the effort was too great. She sank deeper into the abyss and remembered more of her past with Lee.