It was a little eerie, Jack Cottle thought, to talk to a woman who so clearly resembled Felix Gaeta. At the same time, he had to admit, it had been a pure pleasure having medical professionals on the ships. Even T'kil, who was one of the best doctors he'd ever seen, even if she was weird to look at. And Sophia Gaeta was a medical doctor as well as a ship captain which he found interesting.
" I have to warn you," he said as they both strode down the Galactica's corridor. " The sickbay is very primitive, in comparison to what you're used to." He physically ached to see the sickbay on the Enterprise but he kept that desire clamped down. There would be opportunity, he was certain of that, and it was more important to be on the Galactica for the time being, organizing the new supplies, learning new treatments and helping some of the people that had been physically shattered by the Cylon attack. But it was still a little embarrassing to show off the sick bay. It was clean, and that was about it. He'd already seen the other Starfleet doctors flinch at the fact that the only medications he'd had were painkillers made from plants he'd taken from the Cloud Nine before its destruction and homegrown antibiotics that had started as moldy bread from the mess hall.
Sophia shrugged nonchalantly. " You've been running for close to five years. This ship was being decommissioned. I'm sure that the place wasn't well stocked to begin with. I'm not going to look down my nose at you or your staff. There's only so much that can be done with skill." She chuckled suddenly. " Before I leave, I'll make sure you get the biographical information for my ship's namesake. He made hospitals out of tents in the jungles of Earth."
"Hmm.. I did that on New Caprica." He lit a cigarette as they walked. She rolled her eyes, and again he was struck by how she resembled Felix. Taller of course, and he wondered if that was difficult for her, but her manner was similar and so were her expressions. " You and Lt. Gaeta… Lt. Cmdr. Gaeta… look very much alike. I imagine you've heard that before."
" Yes," she said after a moment. " But not in a very long time." She smiled pleasantly. " It's good to hear. We all missed him a great deal. My oldest boy looks just like him which helped but… it's been too long."
" I hope you got some time with him," Cottle said as he puffed on his cigarette. He meant it. Gaeta was a man with flaws like any other, but Cottle didn't begrudge him the good fortune. He had seen the younger man show up to sick call on New Caprica after the Cylons had come with too many bruises to think he was a traitor. He'd picked up too many bundles of illicit medication as well, after Gaeta had come by. He had known about the Circle, and suspected that the boot shaped bruises and broken ribs he'd treated Gaeta for so long ago had come from humans and not Cylons, but the man had kept his silence about it. All things considered, Cottle was happy for Gaeta. Particularly since Gaeta getting some good news meant that they all did as well.
" A little bit," the woman said happily. " More soon, I hope." Her pleasant looks darkened slightly. " Do you have any idea how terrible smoking is for your health?"
" I heard it causes lung cancer or some such nonsense," Cottle said easily. He took out the pack that T'kil had supplied him with and offered her one. He had a feeling.
And he was right. With a familiar grin, she took a cigarette and let him light it. " These are so terrible…." She inhaled deeply. " But good. You aren't the one who taught this to Felix are you?"
" No I think he picked it up by himself." He chuckled as he said it. She even sounded like a sister.
"Good. That means I don't have to yell at you." She inhaled deeply as they walked to the lift. Cottle found himself liking her. Whatever the genetic stew was that created the Gaeta family, he didn't know and didn't care, but he liked Captain Sophia Gaeta of Starfleet. Of course, it had been a long time since an attractive female doctor had spent time with him. Even longer since he'd found an attractive female doctor that liked a cigarette or two.
The lift door opened, and he found himself looking at Kara Thrace. Cottle hesitated. He wasn't afraid of Kara Thrace, not exactly. He was afraid that all the hate that the woman had buried inside herself was going to explode in a very unpleasant way. Thrace had been relatively quiet the last few days, but that only worried him more. Kara Thrace quiet and pissed off was much more scary than Kara Thrace raging.
On the other hand, showing fear was the best way to get a wild animal to attack, and he had no intention of cowering away from Thrace. He wasn't a shrink, but he knew that a lot of her problem was that some brakes had finally been applied to her behavior. The luxury of safety, and of weapons that could defend them meant that the fleet no longer had to forgive the transgressions of the flight wing. That meant no more wrist slaps for fighting, for alcoholic binging, disrespect, or any of the other activities Kara was so fond of. Being a Viper pilot was no longer the equivalent of being a fleet god, it was just a job again. And not likely to be an important job if he understood the technology that was soon to come to them. " Captain Thrace, mind sharing the lift?"
Her eyes passed over him and rested on Sophia. " Not at all." She took a position at the back of the lift car. It made him nervous, particularly since he could see Sophia's temper rise on her face, even though her expression didn't change. She was like her brother in that as well, Cottle thought with amusement. He pressed the buttons that would let the lift stop at the deck the sickbay was on.
" So you're Felix's sister," Kara said after a moment. Cottle didn't like her tone, but there was nothing to complain about.
" That's what Mom and Pop said when he was born," Sophia said.
" I can see the curly hair runs in the family. Is it the same for the lying? Or is that just a privilege of being part god?" Kara smirked.
Sophia turned and hit the emergency stop button. " Dr. Cottle, I assume you're bound by the same privacy rules that I am, as a doctor, correct?"
" Yes…" He schooled his features to not look concerned, although he was suddenly worried. Trapped in an elevator with two angry women… He'd prefer Cylons. It would be a quicker death.
" Good." With lightening speed Sophia grabbed Kara by the woman's uniform and slammed her into the lift wall, holding the smaller woman up so that Kara's feet didn't quite touch the ground. " Now, you listen to me, you little bitch," Sophia snarled. " You're not talking to a Starfleet officer right now. You're talking to me, Sophia Gaeta, a woman who happens to love her only brother very much. I know who you are."
" Really?" Kara hissed back. " What do you think you know?"
" I know you tried to kill Felix." Sophia slammed Kara again and Cottle almost protested. He didn't, because he sensed that neither woman wanted him to interfere. " You are alive right now because Felix told me that you had your reasons. I don't agree, I think he's letting guilt over things he couldn't know or change cloud his reasoning, but he's my brother and I will respect his wishes. That doesn't mean I have to listen to your nasty little mouth or your nasty little accusations. I've met your kind before."
Kara kicked her hard, hard enough to make the Earth woman flinch. " What exactly is my kind," Kara asked, her voice dark with rage.
" You're a bully," Sophia hissed back. " A bully that's used to getting her way, and a bully that has absolutely no idea who's she's dealing with. Do you think I couldn't snap your neck right now if I wanted? Do you think Felix couldn't?" She slammed Kara again, and Cottle realized that she was taking great pains to not break Thrace's bones. " Felix was raised on Earth, and on Earth, men who beat women, even when they sorely need to be taught some manners, are considered lower than dirt. That, and the fact that your Cylons seem to be enhanced humans and Felix would have been a fool to beat you down and let himself be killed just to make a point. But now… now that you people know that there's more to the galaxy than humans and Cylons… Felix doesn't have to worry about being executed as a Cylon. So believe me when I tell you, I can kill you with my bare hands." She held Kara against the wall with one hand. " There were a lot of scientific tests. I'm much stronger than the average human woman. I assure you, it's been proven that my brother is stronger than I."
"What the hell is your point?" Kara snarled, her voice sounding choked.
" He has to come back here to fix this heap. He had to hide his abilities or else you people would have killed him. I intend to make sure that he gets over that, but let me be very clear. If you ever touch my brother again without his consent, I promise you, I'll touch you. And I'm a doctor. I know how make sure you live a very long time in very miserable circumstances. So if the urge comes upon you to act like a little savage beast, remember this conversation. If I even think you gave Felix a harsh look, I'll make you pay for it. And if for some reason I'm not there, someone will be. There's six of us, and one of you, and we love our brother. Do you understand? Or should I leave marks?" Sophia slammed Kara one more time.
And that was where it needed to stop, Cottle decided. He restarted the lift. " You two need to calm down," he said softly.
"I'm perfectly calm," Sophia said, her eyes never leaving Kara's. " Do you follow what I am saying, Captain Thrace?"
Kara's eyes burned with rage. " I understand, Captain Gaeta."
This is bad, Cottle thought as the lift doors opened. Sophia let go of her grip on Kara's uniform and stepped out the lift. Cottle waited a moment, until he was certain that Kara wasn't going to make a running leap at Sophia. But Kara merely glared stonily at the Starfleet officer until the lift doors closed. Cottle turned to Sophia. " I'm sure that felt good," he said gruffly as he lit another cigarette, " But I don't think you did anything other than throw gasoline on the fire."
After a moment, Sophia nodded. " You're right," she said after a long moment, " but it did feel good. And it reminds me that I would like genetic samples of the population."