Prompt: Garcia - "You, my fine furry friends, are welcome." - 'Criminal Minds'
Echoing footsteps disturbing the silence of the flight deck caused Lee Adama to glance over his shoulder to find Crashdown walking toward him.
"Mind if I join you, sir?" Crashdown asked.
"I thought you would be celebrating with the others," Lee replied.
Instead of sleeping, the pilots had gathered in the rec room to celebrate their escape from the Cylons. Though he had been invited by several of them to join them when he was free to do so, Lee didn't feel comfortable doing so. He may have been put in command of the fighter squadron but Lee knew he was still considered an outsider by most of Galactica's pilots.
Crashdown shrugged. "I stopped by but didn't feel comfortable there."
"I know exactly what you mean."
Crashdown looked around the flight deck. "They might be designed the same, but this place just doesn't feel the same. There is something off. You know what I mean, sir?"
"Yes, I do," Lee agreed with a nod of agreement.
Another set of footsteps caught both men's attention. In unison, Lee and Crashdown turned in the direction of the sound.
"If you're not with the other pilots, I realize you would probably feel awkward joining us mechanics," Cally said, as she crossed the flight deck to the two officers. She was carrying a bottle in each hand. "However, I thought the two of you might like to share a drink together."
Reaching the two pilots, Cally handed each man a bottle. Taking the bottle from the flight mechanic, both men thanked her.
"You're welcome," Cally told them, cheerily. "It's the least I could do after you all saved the ship today," she added before turning and heading back across the flight deck.
As Lee watched Cally retrace her steps, Crashdown twisted the lid off of the bottle, and turned toward his new superior officer. "I'd like to propose a toast, if I may, sir."
"Go right ahead," Lee replied, as he looked away from the retreating mechanic wondering how she could be so upbeat after what they had just gone through. Maybe it wasn't really important right now. The each had to deal with the events of the past twenty-four hours on their own.
Lee twisted the lid off of his bottle as Crashdown raised his own. "To those who didn't making and to staying alive to share their story so that future generations don't forget what happened today."
"I'll drink to that," Lee said, clinking his bottle against Crashdown's. Maybe it was fitting that the two pilots that had survived when the rest of their squadrons hadn't shared this drink alone together. They had plenty of time to try fitting in with their new crew. Tonight, it was time to say good-bye to those they had served with before.
