Title: Half Life - 24/27?
Author: Elise/Ringred
Date: 8/15/2007
Rating: M or R for violence
Category: AU, Angst, Drama, possibly with some humor mixed in.
Warnings: Angst, Language, Violence
Spoilers: Anything that's been aired in the US. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Pairing: Lee/Kara, we're getting there. Lee/Dee are a sinking ship. Sam/Jean are also married. Helo/Athena are still married. Hints of Roslin/Adama.
Word Count: Microsoft Word says…2802
Disclaimers: Alas, I own nothing...but we all have our dreams.
Summary: Starbuck died tragically over five years ago. The Fleet mourned and moved on with their lives. What happens when the lost daughter is returned to the Fleet? Will she ever find herself again? Is there anywhere she belongs?
Notes: I know! I'm a horrible horrible person! I'm sorry for the very long wait again. I got distracted by many, many things and I just couldn't seem to get this chapter written. But I never even considered dropping the fic. This fic is already finished in my head. It's just a question of getting it all typed out and posted up.
Once again, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. I know I haven't replied to all of you yet, but I have read all the reviews and I deeply appreciate your support. My email is a mess, but I'm determined to weed my way through it sometime today or tomorrow. I hope I don't miss anyone. Hell, at this point I just hope I still have readers...lol. I feel like a guilty dog for making you wait this long on the new chapter. Life just has a way of getting in the way.
As for this chapter? It didn't turn out exactly like I had planned and I had to extend my projected chapters for the story to 27. I'm just not quite as far along as I thought I'd be. But I'm getting there. I did manage to take Lee/Dee off the life support. Hopefully that wins me a few brownie points.
Feedback makes my world go round! Please let me know what you think!
Here goes...
Chapter Twenty Four
Location: Hanger Deck
"So...we've been sitting in this system for over a week now. What exactly are we waiting on? Another miraculous sign from the gods?"
Kara ground her teeth together and twisted the wrench in her hands. She was buried in the belly of a viper and Raine, a particularly persistent crew spec, wanted to chat. Kara was starting to miss Caine. Three days ago the Admiral had decided that Kara's life was no longer in imminent danger. Corporal Cainewood had been reassigned. Apparently the absence of the six-foot armed marine made Kara appear more approachable to the other members of the deck crew. Now they were all taking the time out of their busy days to come talk to her...and ask her lots of annoying questions.
"I told you, Raine," Thorne, another crew spec, decided to throw in his two cubits, "the President still has to translate the information from the beacon. Which you would know if you ever listened to the wireless broadcasts. They've been calling on all the religious scholars in the Fleet to help."
"And I told you I'd rather gargle acid than listen to that bullshit they spout on the wireless broadcasts," Raine said, "I hate politics." She kicked one of Kara's boots to get her attention. "Couldn't you just read your magical triad cards or do your Chosen One thing and point out the next jump spot?"
Kara rolled her eyes. "I'll get right on that."
Raine snickered. "Promise?"
"What exactly does doing your Chosen One thing involve?" Thorne asked. "Is there a dance? Can we watch?"
"Don't you two have something better to do right now...like work?" Kara drawled.
"We're on lunch," Raine answered. "If you'd bother to pull your head out from under that viper you'd see that we're talking between bites of our nummy algae sandwiches."
"Um hmm..." Thorne said, "they're both crunchy and gooey."
Kara snorted despite herself. "Yummy. Can't wait."
"I would if I were you," Raine mumbled, "maybe they'll improve with age."
"Can't get much worse," Thorne said optimistically.
"BOWDEN! ZABINI!" Cally Tyrol's voice echoed across the hanger deck. "I KNOW you did not bring that slop they're calling food onto my deck."
Kara heard the two crew specs shuffle positions. She peaked out to see Raine hiding her half-eaten sandwich behind her back and Thorne shoving his last bite into his mouth. Thorne tried to swallow it down and gagged. He covered his mouth to keep from spitting it out and tried again. His pained expression had Kara snickering at his expense.
Thorne glared at Kara, but answered Cally in a squeaky voice. "What food, Chief?"
Cally opened her mouth to reply, but then the title registered. Her face turned dark red and her eyes flashed. "I am not, nor will I ever be, the CHIEF!" She took a menacing step toward the two crew specs. "The CHIEF is down in his plastic box with the other new kitchen appliances." She stopped in front of Thorne and glared up into his face. "I am just the poor dumb sucker stuck covering for his ass until they let him out on good behavior." She poked him hard in the chest. "AM I UNDERSTOOD?"
Thorne swallowed and nodded. "Yes, Chi...uh Cally."
Cally's eyes narrowed but Thorne took a hasty step backward out of her range. The riled temporary crew chief turned her ire on Raine. "Get rid of the sandwich, Bowden. It might start growing on your hand."
The female crew spec's expression was carefully neutral, "yes, sir."
"And both of you get the frak back to work and leave Starbuck alone," Cally ordered. "If she decides to rip your frakkin' heads off, I'll be the first one in line to testify it was justifiable homicide." Throwing both of them another glare and nodding once in Kara's direction, Cally spun on her heel and stomped off.
Still watching Cally walk away, Thorne reached up to rub his soar throat. He winced. "Cally's good moods have gone from rare to nonexistent."
Raine shrugged. "She's just trying to deal. Her whole world got turned upside down."
"Give her time," Kara told them.
Raine sighed. "Yeah." She thumped Thorne on the back of the head. "Let's go. I think I know what's wrong with our viper."
Thorne smirked. "Other than nugget-itis?"
Raine grinned back. "A chronic condition agitated by the nugget-itis."
"It is terminal?" Thorne asked seriously.
"Not if we've caught it in time," Raine told him, "but it will require an immediate transplant."
Thorne rubbed his hands together. "Let's get scrubbed in."
Kara rolled her eyes and climbed back under the viper. "You two are so frakked."
- - - - - - - - - -
Location: The CAG's Office
Major Lee Adama quickly signed off on the report in front of him and flipped it into his out tray. He twirled his pen through his fingers and leaned back in his chair. "What do you have to tell me today, Specialist?"
Crewman Specialist Henson shifted uncomfortably in front of the CAG's desk. "Well, sir...I'm...I'm not sure what you want me to say."
Major Adama shrugged. "Whatever you can say, Specialist. I want to know how she's doing. I want to know if she's having any problems. I want to know anything you think might interest me concerning Captain Thrace."
"Pardon me, sir, but...couldn't you ask the Captain these questions yourself?" Henson was far from comfortable with this new arrangement. He'd never been the most popular member of the deck crew anyway. He shuddered to think of his coworkers reactions if they found out he was giving daily reports to the CAG.
"No, Specialist," Lee told him, "I can't. That's why you're here."
He'd been afraid the Major would say that. This just wasn't getting any better. "Do these reports...um...have the Admiral's approval?"
Lee scratched his chin. "They don't have the Admiral's disapproval." Lee sat forward and propped his arms on his desk. A smile curved his lips, but his eyes were deadly serious. "Start talking, Specialist."
Henson fought back a whimper. This was a lose/lose situation. He could either obey his superior officer and possibly piss off the entire deck crew, or he could risk a trip to the brig and serious bodily injury from a man they all knew was as mean as a centurion when crossed.
Major Adama's eyes narrowed at Henson's continued silence. He tapped his fingers impatiently against his desk. "Specialist?"
Henson took in a deep breath and sealed his fate. "Captain Thrace worked on vipers again today. Chief Cally gave her a choice of assignments and she picked Dumbo's bird. Chief Cally made her promise she wouldn't deliberately get Dumbo killed. Captain Thrace rolled her eyes and said that would be too easy."
Lee nodded. "How's Kara taking Caine's reassignment?"
Henson frowned and shrugged. "She lost her clipboard and I heard her fussing about needing her personal assistant."
"But no one's bothering her?"
Henson's eyebrows shot up. "Would you bother her? She's mean. I avoid her like the plague." Henson paused thoughtfully. "Some of the other crew specs are trying to befriend her, though. They've decided she's one of us now."
Lee shook his head. "They've decided she's a knuckledragger?"
Henson cocked his head to the side and smirked. "She's not too good to get dirty and crawl underneath a viper just like the rest of us."
"Getting dirty was never Kara's problem," Lee said. He leaned back in his chair again and waved his hand toward the specialist. "Keep talking."
- - - - - - - - - -
Location: The CAG's Quarters
Pushing open the hatch to his quarters, Lee stepped through with a tired sigh. All he wanted was a hot shower and six to eight hours of hard sleep. Instead he noticed his wife sitting calmly at the table in the center of the room. A packed duffel was propped against her chair. She looked sad and resigned. Lee wondered if he should act surprised, if he should put up some token protest. Dee deserved at least that, right? Didn't every wife deserve for her husband to object when she decided to leave him? But truthfully, Dee had been gone for weeks. She'd dropped any honest attempts at reconciliation after the incident with Kara. Lee hadn't questioned her emotional and physical absence from his life at the time. He'd just been relieved. Lee was consumed with finding a way to fix things with Kara. He couldn't even pretend to fight for his marriage anymore. He wondered why he ever had to begin with. Lee Adama knew he was bastard and pretending to fight for a marriage that never should've begun in the first place wasn't going to change that.
Dee sighed and stood from her chair. She picked up the duffel and faced her soon-to-be ex-husband. "I filed for divorce. I'm not sure how long these things take to go through, but at least I got it started."
Lee tried to read her expression and failed. Sometimes Dee was very good at hiding her emotions. Lee finally cleared his throat and spoke to break the silence. "Dee, I don't know what to say."
She shook her head. "Don't say anything." She paused and covered her face with her free hand. A sound half-laugh/half-sob escaped her throat. "I can't even begin to tell you how ashamed I am of myself, Lee. I can't believe how low I've allowed myself to sink over you."
Lee's mouth dropped open. He started to speak.
Dee waved him off. "Don't, Lee. I don't blame you. I'm not blaming you." A genuine laugh escaped Dee's throat at his look of surprise. "Yeah, isn't that shocking?" Dee dropped the duffel for the moment and shrugged. "You played your part, Lee, so did Kara. We all played a part in this frakked up mess we've made of our lives. Kara broke your heart, you married me out of revenge, and I married you because I convinced myself we should all just take what we can get." Dee shook her head. "We're all idiots and we all frakked up."
Lee frowned. "Dee, you weren't to blame..."
Dee's eyebrows shot up. "Wasn't I? Do you know what goes on inside my head, Lee? Do you have any idea what I was thinking when I married you?"
That tripped him up. "I...well...you were..."
"I was making a conscious decision to marry a man I knew was madly in love with another woman," Dee said. "In what reality could that situation ever end well?" She shook her head. "I took just as much advantage of you as you took of me, Lee. My actions ended up hurting you, hurting Kara, and hurting myself. I may not win the trophy for frak-ups in this situation, but I'm definitely in the top three," Dee told him, "I still get a ribbon."
Lee felt like he'd been hit by a raptor. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go. Walking over to the table, Lee grabbed a chair and sat down. "I don't know where all this is coming from, Dee. I thought you wanted to save our marriage."
Dee snorted. "What marriage?" She retook her seat and faced Lee again. "Did you even wonder over the last few weeks why I've been avoiding you, Lee? Or did you just assume I was blaming you once again for running after Kara?" His expression must have said it all because Dee laughed again. "No, Lee, I wasn't blaming you this time. This time I took a good long look in the mirror and I started taking responsibility for my own actions. I started looking to myself, Lee, and I wasn't proud of what I saw."
Dee looked down at the table and when she looked back up her eyes were filled with tears. "I did it on purpose, Lee. I set out to hurt Kara Thrace and I succeeded."
"What?" Lee frowned confused.
Dee shrugged and looked down at her hands. "I knew you loved her, Lee, that you've always loved her and you always will. I knew you would never love me the way I wanted you to. I knew it was only a matter of time before you left me for her...and I wanted to punish her for it." A bitter smile curved Dee's lips as two tears escaped to trail down her cheeks. "So, I timed my little visit to your office to coincide with Kara getting there. I left the hatch cracked so she could hear us. I pushed all the right buttons and said all the right things to set you off." She forced herself to look up and meet Lee's eyes. "I wanted to break Kara Thrace and I did it."
Lee was stunned. He wanted to rage at Dee for the damage she'd caused. He wanted to shake her until she understood just how wrong she'd been. But as he looked at her tear-stained face he realized she already knew. That was what this was all about. Dee could've kept the truth to herself. She could've asked for a divorce and made it all his fault once again. She could've played the victim and walked away squeaky clean, but she hadn't. Dee was owning up to her actions. She was putting an end to this sick twisted cycle they'd all been living for years.
Dee nodded as she read his expression. "I can still see the look on Starbuck's face when you opened the hatch and found her on the other side. It turns my stomach to know I did that to anyone on purpose." Dee pushed back her chair and stood once again. She bent down and picked back up her duffel. "I don't want to be that person anymore, Lee. I don't want to be that ashamed of myself ever again."
Dee took two steps toward the hatch before pausing. She turned and looked back at the man that had never really been hers. "I know Kara's been through more than any person should ever be put through, Lee, and she doesn't deserve the added pain I caused her," Dee's voice was soft and sincere, "I wish Kara nothing but the best. I mean that."
Lee shook his head and ran his hands over his face. "Well, Dee, if she ever let's me speak to her again I'll tell her."
An ironic smile curved Dee's lips as though she couldn't believe what she was saying. "You'll find your way back to each other, Lee. You always do."
End of Chapter