I warn readers that there is some sensitive material in this chapter, which some may find upsetting. However, I don't like to leave things sad...
Chapter 38
Lee awoke suddenly in his rack when his alarm buzzed above his head. The small alcove that made up the only space he could call his own, was dark from having the curtain drawn closed. He turned on the small lamp above his head and smiled immediately when he saw the numerous photographs staring down at him from above. A few months before Kara had given him a selection of photographs of Lena and Joseph and he had stuck them all up on the ceiling to his rack, this way he could see them every time he opened his eyes.
Pulling back the curtain, he reluctantly pulled himself away from the photographs and flung his legs over the side of his rack. The room was bustling with activity as the midday shift was changing places.
"You look like hell Apollo," shouted out Narcho who was only wearing a towel around his waist and drying his hair with another. He had obviously just finished the early shift and three hours straight in a flight-suit had a tendency to make a person very sweaty.
"Thanks," replied Lee, yawning widely into his hands.
"You on the late shift last night?"
"Yeah, had some problems with my viper so stayed to fix her, didn't get to bed until 8am."
"Ouch, four hours sleep. Why don't you stay in your rack for another couple of hours?"
"I wish, but there's about a mile high pile of paperwork with my name on it," replied Lee suppressing a groan. He walked to the end of the room and opened his locker, grimacing at the bags under his eyes. He had been working nights a lot lately as Kara had been doing double shifts during the day. Apparently Fisk wanted all of his pilots to go through some retraining, which she had been given the sole responsibility of managing. She was exhausted and the twins were becoming a handful, especially as they had started to grab and pull at anything they could get their little hands on.
Lee was half asleep when he walked down the Pegasus' corridors towards her quarters. The passageways were more open and vast on the Pegasus, and he found himself missing the A shaped halls of the Galactica.
He was already dreading his late night CAP that was due to start at 0000 hours, which no amount of coffee could wake him up enough for. Doing paperwork was one thing, but flying circles around a sleeping fleet could be exceptionally boring. Back on the Galactica he had looked forward to those long nights, especially as he had a tendency to sign Kara up for the same shifts. He could talk to her for hours over the comm system. But now he was stuck with the Pegasus crew, who had been drilled into staying silent whenever on CAP. Apparently Cain hadn't been fond of idle chatter.
He could hear the crying from one of the twins as he pushed open the hatch door and saw Kara busy bouncing Lena on her shoulder as she paced up and down the room, her hair in an untidy ponytail and looking exhausted. Joseph was playing contently on the floor, seemingly unaware of his sister's distressed cries.
"Everything okay?" asked Lee, smiling as Joseph reached out his arms excitedly for his daddy and then carried on playing. "What's up Little Lee?" he added softly as Kara handed over his sobbing daughter.
Kara threw him a pained look, the bags under her eyes just as heavy as his, "she was up all night, doc Phillips thinks it's a cold." She grabbed up her duty blues jacket and threw it on, not bothering to do up the buttons.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Kara flung back her loose strands of hair and grabbed a pile of files from the table. "Great," she said a little unconvincingly and then looked at her watch, "frak, Fisk is going to have my ass." Quickly she bent down and gave Joseph a kiss to the top of his head making him gurgle happily, slapping his little chubby hand into his lap. She then walked up and did the same to Lena, but only received a sniffle in response.
Kara looked on at her little girl sadly, stroking her head gently. "Get better little one," she said soothingly. Her gaze then met with Lee's, their eyes locking.
It always made Lee's heart beat slightly faster when she stood so close.
They held the gaze a little too long and he couldn't help but reach up and tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear, stroking a finger briefly down her cheek.
"I have to go," she whispered and reluctantly pulled herself away, leaving Lee bouncing Lena gently in his arms.
He stood staring at the hatch door for a few moments and then realised that Lena had fallen asleep over his shoulder, "hey Little Lee," he cooed, not caring about the drool his daughter left on the shoulder of his duty blues.
oooo
It was at around 1800 hours when Kara wanted to give up and scream at the other pilots. Fisk had decided that everyone on the ship, from the marines all the way up to the senior officers, needed retraining and it was driving her mad. It was also evident that the reason Fisk was ordering this shake-up was not because he had taken the time to assess if it was really needed, but to keep everyone busy so he wouldn't have to deal with them. An approach that was completely the opposite from Cain's and it didn't command much respect.
Despite her exhaustion, it was another four hours before she was able to return to her quarters, just as Lee was prepping to start his next CAP. When she had finally finished grilling Lieutenant Sykes about his poor landings, Lee had just begun going over his check list with a deckhand. All they had managed was a nod to each other; anything more would have started the gossips talking.
With all of their time taken up with extra shifts, they had barely been alone together and it was getting harder and harder not to let her longing for him show. Kara had spent many a night dreaming about that moment of passion a few weeks before, waking up suddenly feeling nothing but desire for him, wanting him in the bed with her, but she had had to settle for satisfying herself.
"Hey Megan," she said with a yawn as she walked through the hatch.
"Alright Starbuck?" replied Megan as cheerful as ever.
"Don't you ever get tired?" asked Kara rhetorically. "How are the little ones?"
"Lena's still grouchy."
"Frak, did she cry all day?"
"No sir, she was just quiet."
Kara frowned and walked into the adjoining room after dismissing Megan. Lena and Joseph seemed to be contently asleep in their cribs. She hated missing out on putting them to bed. Letting the side down on the cribs, she gave each of her children a kiss to the top of their head. It still amazed her how much she loved them. For most of her life she had never made a secret of her resolve never to reproduce, but now she couldn't imagine life without them.
After splashing some water on her face, Kara quickly brushed her teeth before collapsing into bed and falling into a restless sleep. The nightmares had subsided in the last few months, the terrors that had haunted her now diminished. But tonight she dreamt of that cage again. Not the torture, but that moment when Lee was dragged away from her, screaming out as they pulled him away. Over and over again she saw the moment when she reached out through the bars for his hand, telling him that she loved him.
She awoke with a violent shudder, entangling the bed sheets between her legs, but at least she wasn't dripping with sweat like when she'd had her other dreams.
With one quick stroke she combed her hair back with her hand. "Get a grip," she muttered to herself and then looked at the clock to the side of the bed. It was nearly 1500 hours, which was later than she thought, having expected Lena to wake up at least every couple of hours.
The silence in the room however, was not a comfort and Kara felt a pull in her chest, telling her to get up. She pushed the sheets aside and flung her legs across the side of the bed before pushing off with a yawn and walking over to her baby's room, flipping the light switch on in the main room to provide illumination.
She could just make out the soft gurgle coming from Joseph as he stirred in his sleep. "Hey kiddo, I hope your dreams are better than mine," she cooed, tickling the bottom of his foot gently, making him wriggle slightly but continue in his deep sleep.
Smiling she turned to Lena, and then her heart stopped.
Little Lee seemed to be half awake, her body still and her breathing heavy. For a moment Kara was frozen to the spot, with no idea what to do. And then she sprung forwards, placing the back of her hand against Lena's brow.
She was burning up.
Kara wasted no time scooping her up and ran out of the quarters, holding Lena flush to her chest, not caring if she was only wearing a single tank and briefs. Even as she ran down the corridor her baby did not stir, no cries coming from being abruptly woken up.
It didn't take her long to reach lifestation and burst through the doors, ignoring the nurse who asked sweetly if she could help.
"Doc!" she yelled out at the top of her voice.
"What's the problem?" asked the nurse again, sensing something was wrong.
"Doc!"
A hatch adjoining the room opened and Dr Phillips dashed out, knowing instinctively that someone was in need of immediate medical help. "What's happened?" he yelled and crossed the room quickly to Kara.
"Something wrong," cried Kara desperately.
Phillips swiftly took the bundle from her arms and took a quick glance at her before moving quickly over to a bed. "Get the other nurses and doc Cottle, stat!" he shouted to the on-duty nurse.
"What is it, what's wrong?" cried Kara again, as she reached out for the bed, desperate to see her daughter.
"You need to step back," said Phillips without taking his attention away from Lena. He motioned to one of the nurses who had appeared and she walked towards Kara.
"You need to let the doctor do his work," she said sweetly, putting her arms out to turn Kara away, but she was shrugged off.
"No, she's my daughter and I want to know what's wrong with her!" the tears were pooling in her eyes, with a few strays streaking down her cheeks.
"And the doc is trying to find that out for you, but you need to let him work."
"Please," her voice now diminished to a sob. "Please help her, she's my little girl."
"We will," said the nurse softly with a comforting smile and grabbed a blanket off the nearest bed, wrapping it around Kara's shoulders. "I'll send someone to your quarters for your son." The nurse then immediately ran back to the bed, which was now surrounded by lots of medical staff who had pulled over different items of machinery.
Kara couldn't move, could barely breathe as the medics ran around her, shouting out medical jargon. It was as if the world had suddenly gone into slow motion, each second agonising and all she wanted to do was hold her daughter and tell her it was going to be okay. But she didn't know if she would be okay and the pain was gripping at her heart.
Everyone was rushing to help Lena, the beeps coming from the heart monitor the only sign that the little girl was alive as the doctor couldn't rouse her. Phillips placed his stethoscope to her chest again and shook his head uncertainly at the nurse.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure," he replied quietly, continuing to work. Paediatrics was not his speciality as it was considered unnecessary when training to become a doctor on a Battlestar. "I need Cottle here."
"He's on his way," said another nurse. Phillips looked up at her; she knew that glance, it meant the little girl might not make it. "Shall I get Major Adama here too?"
Phillips nodded quickly, and then injected a needle straight into Lena's arm.
She didn't stir.
oooo
Lee had lost count of the number of times he had circled around the same ships. CAPs were even more boring now there were even fewer ships. Before being torn away from the Galactica he had enjoyed the playful banter that came through his headset from Kara, making him feel alive when the fleet was surrounded by so much death. When she had not been with him on CAP, he had passed the time by looking at the ships, smiling to himself as various people watched out into space, curious to see the vipers.
A voice suddenly came over his comm system as he was doing another sweep past Cloud Nine, "Apollo, this is Galactica do you copy?" It was the voice of Dee, speaking softer than normal.
Why was the Galactica cutting in thought Lee, "Copy Galactica, this is Apollo, what's up?"
"Apollo, we're sending Hotdog out to take over your CAP, you're to return to the Pegasus immediately."
He could hear a slight sniff over the comm, but that didn't stop his frustration, "What? Galactica, Apollo, what the frak is going on, I'm not due in for another half an hour."
Lee then heard the voice of his father coming over through his headset and knew immediately something was wrong.
"Son, Lena's been rushed to lifestation..."
He didn't hear the rest, didn't need to. Flipping his viper end on end as if there was a raider on his ass, he punched the throttle for the Pegasus. He didn't care about his trajectory as he entered the landing pod, barely making the trap as the viper landed hard. The sweat was already pouring over his body from the fear, his stomach feeling suddenly nauseous.
It seemed to take the deckhands forever to start hauling his viper to the hangar and he was losing impatience, shouting out "Come on!" as loudly as he could into his helmet and thumping his hand sideways into the canopy. "Come on!"
At last the airlock closed behind him and the hangar deck doors opened. Immediately he threw back the canopy and jumped up in his seat to standing, ignoring the shouts from various deckhands for him to wait until they had finished towing the viper in. But he ignored them, unclasping and throwing his helmet away, he jumped over the side down to the deck, not stopping to check himself and sprinted across the room and out into the corridors. He was a fast sprinter and ignoring everyone else, didn't stop until he had reached the lifestation, barging through the double doors.
And then he stopped running, his heart pounding heavily in his chest as he took in what was happening.
Nurses were rushing around everywhere and doc Phillips shouted out various commands. He couldn't see his daughter, just the backs of various people and machinery. The rarely fast moving figure of Cottle came running through the door into the room past him and rushed over, nudging a nurse abruptly out of the way.
And then he saw Kara. Standing a few feet away, her gaze was fixed on the bed even as a nurse swept the curtain across. A blanket hung loosely over her shoulders, her hair was lank and falling out of its ponytail and tears were already drying up on her cheeks, only to be met by fresh ones.
No words needed to be said to know the pain they were both sharing. Lee walked up to her slowly, his mind still in a daze and placed a hand to her shoulder. But she continued to stare at the curtained off area as if she was in some kind of a trance.
Lee wanted answers, wanted to know what was wrong with his daughter. He shouted out to the nearest nurse as she walked into lifestation, "what's going on?"
The woman looked taken aback. "I don't know sir," she stuttered.
"Not good enough, I want to know what's happening, now," his voice starting to crack. The nurse rushed away and he looked over to Kara, but she stood unmoved. His voice was weak as he reached out for her hand, "Kara?"
This time she turned her head to him, her eyes red and blood shot. As soon as she saw him her face crumpled, her bottom lip trembling as she began to cry. Lee pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her, feeling her body shaking slightly as she cried, muffling the noise into his shoulder.
oooo
Cottle and Phillips looked at each solemnly, the latter stating, "She's forming a rash."
Cottle nodded, "we need to lock down the ship immediately, no-one is to enter lifestation. If there's an emergency then they stay here. We can't afford to let this spread."
"What about the people who have never had this? There are kids on the ship now."
"Anyone who hasn't had it needs to be confined to quarters, any sign of infection, get them here stat."
Pulling back the curtain just enough to allow them through, Cottle and Phillips stepped out into the main room leaving two nurses behind.
Kara was still in Lee's arms. He had wrapped the blanket around her and was desperately trying to keep himself together. As soon as the curtain opened his head darted up and Kara pulled away slightly.
No-one spoke for a few moments.
Kara saw the solemn look on Cottle's face and began to shake, "oh Gods."
Cottle stepped forward immediately sensing what she thought had happened, "she's alive, she's very sick but I think we got to her in good time."
The tears started to pour again, but this time with relief. No matter how much she had gone through in her life, nothing compared to the pain that echoed throughout her body, clutching at her heart like a vice. It took all of her resolve and strength not to collapse to the floor. And then she felt Lee's comforting arms holding her again. How could he stay so strong?
"What's wrong with Lena?" asked Lee weakly.
"I may need to run a few tests, but it looks like Tauron fever. Ordinarily it shouldn't be serious, most people will have it during their lifetime, but it can be serious for babies and adults and Lena's had a particularly bad reaction." Cottle paused as the news sunk in.
"Will she be okay?"
"The next few nights will be critical. I need to know if you've both had Tauron fever, as you know it's highly contagious."
"I had it when I was eight," said Kara softly.
"And you?" he said addressing Lee.
Lee didn't know, he didn't remember suffering from it, though he did remember Zak having it when he was only five. Lee had looked after him as his father was away, reading him stories whilst he was laid up in bed, a horrible rash spread across his face and hands, which he had tried desperately not to scratch. "I don't know," he said at last.
"I need to know, because if you haven't then you'll need to be isolated."
"I'm not leaving doc."
Cottle nodded, he had figured as much. He made a mental note to contact Adama later, who should know. The last thing he needed was another critically ill patient.
Kara pulled herself away from Lee and faced the good doctor. He had always been open and honest with her, and right now she needed to know the truth, "am I going to lose my baby girl?" she asked, straining to stop her voice from cracking.
"Not if I have anything to do with it," he replied.
Kara nodded, unable to stop the tears that kept welling up in her eyes. "Can we see her?" she asked in nearly a whisper.
Cottle nodded and motioned them over to the curtained off area. Kara and Lee quickly followed, desperate to see their daughter. What they saw shocked them. The little girl they knew so well had always so bubbly with a big grin spread across her face as she played without a care in the world. But now she was in a small incubator, laid out on her back with her head turned to the side, tubes sticking out and a ventilator inside her mouth.
"Hello sweetheart," said Kara as she stroked back her soft dark hair, which had grown longer in the last month and had started to curl. She then took her little hand in hers and sat down in a small chair that was beside the incubator.
At first Lee didn't know what to do. He feared to get any closer, an irrational fear that if he did she would be torn away from him. Pushing that thought away, he muscled up all of his inner strength and took a seat next to Kara. Her eyes were focused on the incubator, the blanket falling away from her shoulders. Lee pulled it back up gently and then she turned to him. He could see the pain in her eyes, making his stomach surge even more. Suddenly she reached out her hand and took his, squeezing it gently before turning back to their daughter together, their fingers entwined.
oooo
Kara and Lee kept their constant vigil next to Lena's bedside for the rest of the night and throughout the next day. Neither Cottle nor Phillips went off duty and the entire lifestation was focused completely on the small child.
The Pegasus had been locked-down with no-one allowed to leave the ship under any circumstances. The Galactica had taken over all of the CAPs and general shuttling duties to the planet. Adama had been the only person to board the Pegasus, piloting over a raptor in the early hours of the morning. He had gone straight to Kara's quarters, knowing that Joseph would be missing his parents. His grandson seemed irritable, gurgling and pointing towards Lena's crib. It was amazing how intuitive the twins were, always aware of what was going on.
Adama walked up to the doors of the lifestation, which was sealed off with two marine guards standing outside. In his arms he held Joseph, who was now sleeping soundly over his shoulder. Through the glass he could see across the room, just making out his son and Kara sitting side by side in front of an incubator, their eyes focused and their hands clasped together.
He signalled to Cottle who came over and picked up a phone just before the glass doors. Being a state-of-the-art ship, the lifestation had been designed specifically for contagion isolation, with the only means of communication into the room being through the phone system. Only in the instance of fire or another fatal hazard would the doors open to let someone out.
Adama picked up the other receiver, "how is she?"
"No better," said Cottle seriously. He was desperate for a cigarette, but wouldn't spark up until Lena was awake and crying out for her mother. "But no worse either."
Adama nodded, "this little man doesn't seem to be infected at all."
"That's good to hear. There have only been two other cases on the ship, so it looks as if we contained it in time."
"No-one will leave until we're sure," said Adama feeling Joseph stirring on his shoulder before letting out a small wail. "Hey there," said Adama with a smile and replaced the telephone receiver. He looked into Joseph's bright blue eyes as he pulled away from his shoulder.
"mwah daw da," he gurgled incoherently.
"That's right, mum and dad are behind that door. They're looking after your sister, she's poorly, but the doctors are going to make her better again."
"Mmu?"
"That's right kiddo," he said and bounced him in his arms. It still amazed him how much Joseph looked like Lee when he had been a baby, the same inquisitive look in his eyes, wanting to know and be involved in everything.
He made another glance through the glass, seeing even from a distance that Kara and Lee looked absolutely drained. He knew all too well the pain of having a child ripped away, a pain that never went away, never diminished, but that gradually over time learnt to live with and go on. There wasn't a day that went past that Adama didn't think of Zak, but he also thanked the Gods, despite being an atheist, for bringing Lee back to him twice.
"Come on Seph," he said as softly as he could into his grandson's ear and walked away down the corridor, praying silently to the Gods that Lena would be okay.
oooo
"No arguments," said Cottle decisively. "You've both been sitting here for nearly twenty-four hours and you," he said addressing Lee, "haven't slept in nearly forty-eight. You're not going to help your daughter by getting sick yourselves. You can use Phillips' quarters, which is just over there, anything happens and I'll come and get you straight away."
They knew once the doc's mind was made up that it was pointless to argue and reluctantly they stood up from their vigil. Kara stroked the back of Lena's hand and leant down to place a kiss to the top of her head. "Hey there, mum isn't going far away okay? I'm just going next door. If you need me I'll be here straight away. I love you." Her head was pounding as she pulled away, watching as Lee did the same and then turned to Cottle. "You won't leave her will you?" she asked.
"Either myself or Phillips will stay with her at all times," replied Cottle softly. "I promise."
Kara nodded and walked towards Phillips' quarters slowly, the blanket she had been given the day before still hanging loosely over her arms. She floor was cold under her bare feet but she didn't care, didn't notice as Lee lagged behind to talk to Cottle briefly. She was completely numb, her body on the verge of collapse.
As she entered the quarters she pushed the hatch door so it was slightly closed.
"Lords of Kobol hear my prayer," she whispered desperately, tilting her head up to the ceiling and squeezing her eyes shut, allowing a few tears to escape out. "Don't take my daughter away, she needs your help, please. Take me instead, but don't let my daughter die."
She heard the hatch door creak open suddenly and she finished her prayer in silence, wiping away at her tears. She could feel Lee's gaze burning into the back of her head and the room had gone eerily silent, neither knowing what to say. They had sat together for hours without saying a word, all of their energy focused on their daughter and now they didn't know how to break the silence.
She could sense him getting closer behind her until she could feel his breath on the back of her neck.
Gently Lee placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to say the most comforting words he could find, "it's going to be okay Kara."
She felt the fire suddenly surge within, making her spin round and push him away violently, shouting out with fierce despair, "how do you know that!"
"Kara," uttered Lee, shocked to see her lose control so dramatically, hammering away at his chest as she pushed him away.
"She's just a baby," she screamed, her voice cracking and then she buried her head into his chest, her remaining energy completely spent. Lee wrapped his arms around her tightly, shocked at her outburst. He had never seen her so distraught, it was breaking his heart and he didn't know what to do. Holding onto her, he placed a kiss softly to the top of her head. Kara pulled back slightly and looked up at him as he planted another kiss to her forehead and then to her cheek, before their lips met firmly in a small series of caresses ending in another deep embrace.
"I can't lose her Lee."
"We won't," whispered Lee. "She's strong and stubborn just like you." He stroked back her hair and placed another kiss to the top of her head.
"I should have taken her to lifestation sooner, it's my..."
"Don't," he interrupted. "Don't do that yourself Kara, its no-one's fault, no-ones, okay?"
Kara stepped back, defeated. Lee didn't understand. Her life had always been a series of mistakes, accidents. It had followed her throughout her life, plagued her every footsteps and now she had brought the curse upon her own children. As much as she tried to tell herself it wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but come back to that. She looked up at Lee, his eyes bright blue from the artificial light, gazing upon her with concern. Squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to quell her tears she whispered, "Lords of Kobol hear my prayer..."
Lee listened intently as Kara prayed. He had known she was religious, but this was a private moment he had never seen before. Stepping in closer he closed his eyes and listened to her words, willing the Gods to listen despite his atheism.
"You need to get some sleep," whispered Lee after they had been silent for a few minutes.
"I can't," uttered Kara. She was absolutely exhausted, her body ravaged but she knew she couldn't sleep, feared to fall asleep.
Lee reached out and took Kara's hand and then pulled out a bottle of pills from his pocket and poured out one tablet into her palm, "Cottle gave me these. I used to take them after...when I first came to the Pegasus, they work really well."
Kara looked at the tablet for a moment as the desire for oblivion overcame her. Quickly she brought her hand to her mouth and swallowed the tablet whole. The effect was quick and she soon found her knees buckling from the exhaustion. Lee swept her up swiftly into his arms, her blanket draping and dragging on the floor, and carried her over to the bed, placing her down gently. Ordinarily he would have expected her to fight off such help, but she was already falling asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed watching as the tablets fully kicked in before placing a kiss to her cheek and walking across the room to pick up the phone.
After a few rings he heard the gruff voice of his father on the other end, he had obviously been asleep.
"Dad," uttered Lee, the exhaustion evident in his voice.
"Lee, has anything happened?"
"No change," he replied, his voice weakening. "Dad, I can't..."
Adama paused as he heard the muffled sniffs down the receiver, "you have to son, you're a father now and that means you have to face anything that happens to them, no matter how hard."
"How's Seph?" asked Lee, trying to pull himself together.
"Missing his sister, but he's fine. Get some sleep Lee."
Lee sniffed, "what if I lose her dad?"
There was a pause before he answered, "you can't think like that son, just be there for her."
"I know dad," he replied and then hung up the phone. Lee paused for a moment, burying his head in his hands. He had only known of his children's existence for a few months, but that was enough to have formed an unbreakable bond. It was killing him to see his daughter looking so ill.
Looking across the room he saw that Kara was still laid out on the bed and snoring gently. Lee walked over and pulled the bed covers over her before lying down on the bed next to her. As if she could sense he was there through her slumber, Kara rolled over, spreading her arm out over his chest.
It felt so right to have her lying in his arms, something he hadn't had the pleasure of since before the cylons had taken them, when they had shared Kara's rack during the short week they had been together.
Closing his eyes, Lee said softly to himself something which he had never done before, "Lords of Kobol hear my prayer..."
oooo
Cottle walked over slowly to the entrance of lifestation. It usually took threatening memos and bribes to get people in the fleet to come and see him for their physical checkups, but in the last two days he had had frequent visitors. The entire crew had been curious about what was going on with little Lena Adama and others just wanted to send on their best. Showboat had visited three times, each time talking to Cottle through the intercom phone. On her last visit she had deposited a teddy-bear that she had won in a triad game.
Picking up the phone he nodded his head at the woman standing on the other side of the glass, "unless this is an emergency I can't let you in." His voice was gruff and he had been coughing heavily from nicotine withdrawal. He was puzzled as to why Sarah Porter, the Gemenese Quorum representative, wanted to get in.
"I've brought with me the Priestess from the Rising Star, Eliya. If the parents will allow it, she would like to pray over the little girl."
Cottle refrained from rolling his eyes, "I seriously doubt that they will."
Another woman rounded the corner and took the handset away from the Quorum member. She was a middle-aged woman dressed in ornate robes, which reminded him of Elosha. "I would most be grateful if you could ask," she said in a kind and distinct voice.
Cottle sighed, "Hold on a moment." He walked over to Kara and Lee who were again sat in front of the incubator, clasping their hands together. Cottle whispered something in Kara's ear making her turn towards the entrance. She stared at the woman for a few moments and then nodded. The good doctor then returned to the entrance and pointed the woman to the air locked entrance.
Once inside she bowed her head and said, "thank you kindly."
"If you upset or disturb them in any way, I will have no qualms in throwing you straight back out again."
"I was under the impression that this place is quarantined."
Cottle muttered under his breath and walked away, he had a serious headache developing and he desperately needed a cigarette. He walked slowly away to Philips quarters. It was nearly 2300 hours and it was time for a shift change. He had contemplated ordering Lee and Kara to get some sleep again, but knew that this would fall on deaf ears.
Little Lee had still not shown any signs of improvement.
oooo
Kara had welcomed the soft mannerisms of Eliya when she had come over and asked to pray for Lena. She knew that Lee was not a believer, but he had squeezed her hand in consent. Silently the woman had stood on the other side of the incubator, closing her eyes in seeming meditation.
It was at around 0200 hours that Lee found himself drifting off slightly; dozing with his head slumped back against the small sofa that had been provided to replace the hard chairs. Kara remained awake, still holding her daughter's little hand.
"You need to wake up sweetheart," she said softly. "I know what it's like to feel so alone in your dreams, not knowing whether to stay or move on...but I'm here..." Her tears had dried up after getting a night's sleep, but now two fresh trails trickled down her cheek.
"She is a strong little girl," said Eliya with a warm smile. "And lucky to have two such loving parents."
"Yeah," said Kara, flashes of her own mother and Lee's coming to her head.
"She feels your strength, it is part of her."
Kara lifted Lena's hand slightly and placed a kiss to her palm. Part of her wanted to scream at the priestess, ask why the Gods had done this to an innocent child.
"When was the last time you went to the temple child?" Kara looked at the woman suddenly. "I know you have faith and that you pray, but when was the last time you practised that faith?"
Kara thought back to the last time she had entered the temple in Caprica City, it had been two days after she had found out about her mother's death, having travelled back from the Triton. Her mother had been dead a few days before someone had found her, all alone laid on her bed. "A long time ago," she replied.
Eliya reached out her hands and Kara didn't resist as she clutched hers firmly, "the Lords bless you my child."
Kara closed her eyes, allowing a few tears to escape as the priestess continued in her prayers, saying a blessing for her and the twins. She then began quoting parts from the Scrolls of Pythia before ending with a birthing blessing for Lena and Joseph, a ceremony that Kara had planned to do for her children, but had refrained until she had broached the subject with Lee, knowing that he was an atheist.
"Thank you," said Kara with a small smile when Eliya had finished.
"Never forget your faith Kara. You have many difficult journeys ahead, you have always known this. The time will come when you have to make a choice; there are no right or wrong answers, just different paths." She then bowed her head and went to sit calmly in a chair a few metres from the incubator, seeming to be in deep meditation. What she had said was no different to the many other priestesses and oracles before her, and it was still very frustrating the way they always seemed to speak in riddles, never giving her a full answer. What path was she supposed to take?
Kara walked back to the incubator and stroked back Lena's soft dark curls. She was looking more and more like Lee every day, her smile the only feature she had obviously inherited from her mother.
She felt the soft hand rest on her shoulder and looked round suddenly, coming face to face with Lee. He reached up and wiped away the stray tear that had flowed down her face. Slowly she raised herself onto her tiptoes and placed a long and soft kiss to his lips before sitting back down on the small sofa and continuing her vigil. Lee settled in beside her, placing an arm across her shoulders.
It was at about 0400 hours when Cottle re-emerged from his slumber, walking up to check on the incubator. He smiled slightly at the small child's parents slumped over on the sofa. Lee was sat upright with his head swung back, snoring slightly and Kara was curled up next to him, her head in his lap and a blanket draped over her. Lee's arm was laid across her protectively and Cottle could see how comfortable they seemed in each other's arms.
He continued his checks, noting the slight colouration that had returned to Lena's cheeks and said a silent prayer himself.
oooo
The first thing Kara became aware of was the stiffness in her neck after a mercifully dreamless sleep. She had obviously slept in an awkward position, which was sending spasm down her back. As she moved she could feel Lee's legs stirring and then remembered that she had fallen asleep in his lap.
And then a small gurgling sound came from beside her.
Suddenly springing up from the sofa, Kara and Lee darted over to the incubator just as Cottle came whizzing over. Their hearts were racing as they saw Lena kicking her little chubby legs about, her blue eyes open and alert, looking about the room with curiosity.
It took all of Kara's resolve not to burst out crying from the relief at seeing her daughter awake and letting out a small croaking wail past the ventilator. Cottle came over and placed a stethoscope to her chest, smiling with relief at the wriggling child. He detached a number of tubes and removed the ventilator making Lena cry out at the top of her lungs.
It was the most beautiful sound they had ever heard.
"Can I?" asked Kara looking up at Cottle. She desperately wanted to hold and comfort her little girl.
Cottle reached into the incubator and gently scooped up Lena into his arms before passing her over to Kara. She stopped crying the instant she was in her arms, looking up with bright blue eyes at her parents. If it wasn't for all of the tubes still attached, she would have looked as if nothing had ever been wrong.
"Hello my angel," she cooed and smiled down, unable to stop the tears pooling in her eyes. She sat down into the chair by the incubator with Lee next to her and gently rocked her daughter to sleep.
Reaching out Kara took Lee's hand into hers. Turning to him their eyes locked for a long moment before turning back to their peacefully sleeping child.