Again, sincere thanks to Lona Jennings for her careful line edits!

Chapter 10

"Kara, wake up."

As much as Kara Thrace liked hearing Lee's voice, she was getting more than a little sick of it. Her chest hurt, her legs hurt, and every time she just about managed to get to sleep, that voice cut in and woke her up.

She took a breath, wincing at the sharp pain that shot through her chest as she did so, but the buzzing sound stopped and Lee left her alone. She did her best to get to sleep again.

"Kara?"

She took another breath, snuggled her face back down into Lee's chest, and wished that he'd just be quiet for a while.

"Kara, I need to get up."

Whether it was his shifting body, the sharp pain that went through her at his movement, or his voice, somehow she got the idea that this wasn't the usual wakeup command. She forced her eyes open, wrapping the arm that he'd moved from his stomach around her sore chest and lying back on the bed.

"Sorry," he told her gently. "I'll be right back. I promise."

She nodded and tried to get comfortable again. Well, as comfortable as she'd been able to manage before. She wasn't successful. After a couple of minutes of shifting around, she opened her eyes and decided to take inventory of herself before Lee got back.

Under the circumstances, she figured she'd really easily. She was alive, and the doctor had told her nothing was broken. She felt like everything was broken, but she would take his word for it. She tried another deep breath, and while the pain was still there it wasn't quite as sharp as before. She reached up to rub at her itchy face, and found that the mask she had been wearing had at some point been replaced by a tube that wrapped around her head and stuck in her nose. Wonderful. She rubbed her fingers under the tube, trying to stop the itching.

Upon closer inspection, she found that she could move her arms fairly easily, and her hands didn't hurt. Her legs weren't bad as long as she didn't move them a lot. She decided it was her chest and stomach that were the worst of it. It wasn't too bad compared to what she'd felt like when the Viper had first come off her. That had hurt. It had been as though her entire numb body had found sensation at once, and it had been more than she could process. It had literally hurt too much to scream. She thought she might have even passed out, but she'd been so fuzzy then that she couldn't be sure.

"How are you feeling?" Kara turned her head and tried to squash the disappointment that it wasn't Lee.

She tried to work up some enthusiasm for Doctor Salik's greeting and failed miserably. "I've felt better," she admitted.

"I'll bet," he agreed. "While your shadow is out of the room, let me go ahead and check you."

She nodded because talking still took a lot of effort. It seemed to take all the air she could get in just to breathe; there wasn't anything left for talking. With Lee she had managed it because there had been things she needed to say — things she had seriously doubted she'd live to get the opportunity to say — and she had owed him that. But casual conversation wasn't worth the pain.

The doctor shifted the sheet out of the way and ran a little wand thing over her stomach and chest as he'd done before. "What does that do?" she asked faintly.

"Lets me know if there's any bleeding that I need to worry about. So far there's nothing to get excited about. You have some bruising, but that's to be expected. I'm not finding anything that really concerns me except your breathing. You need to remember to take deep breaths."

"How long is it going to hurt?" she asked as the doctor ran his wand over each leg.

"At least a few days," he admitted. "Tomorrow will probably be the worst, though."

"Worse than today?"

He gave her a grim smile. "A little bit," he told her. "But if I can get you to start breathing a little deeper, I'll be able to give you something for the pain."

"If you give me something for the pain, I'll breathe deeper," she suggested with a raised eyebrow and her best attempt at a smile.

The doctor didn't answer, but he gave her a wink as he pulled her sheets back into place. It occurred to her that she really hadn't gotten a good look at herself, and she wondered where the bruises were and how bad they would be. It seemed like too much effort to try to look though.

"Make a deal with you," the doctor offered. "You keep that alarm from going off for two hours straight, and I'll go ahead and give you something for the discomfort."

"Deal," she said eagerly. She would have agreed to anything to talk him into something to make her chest hurt less.

Just then, Lee stuck his head in the door with a smile. "Hey, I'm back."

Kara returned the smile as she turned with some difficulty to look at him. "Good. Where'd you go?" Later it would likely bother her that she'd been so eager for his return, but at the moment she wasn't going to analyze it. She wanted him there. Period. When a person lived through thinking they'd never see the ones they loved again, seeing them became almost imperative.

"Bathroom," he admitted sheepishly.

"Oh." She didn't think she was very successful in looking casual about his answer. Talk about having a good reason to take a break.

"Well, I'll get out of your way now that he's back," the doctor told her with a small smile. "Remember the deal."

She nodded, took a deep breath, and watched him go.

"Deal?" Lee asked.

Kara patted the bed next to her where Lee had been before. He took the hint and resumed his spot, allowing her to turn over on her side and settle in as comfortably as she could. It hurt a lot less to be on her side than to lay on her back. "If I can keep that damned buzzer quiet for a couple of hours, he'll get me drugs," she told him. "So help me stay awake. Talk to me."

His arms had already gone around her. She liked the feeling. "Talk about what?"

"Whatever," she suggested, then chanced a glance up at his face. His smile was indulgent, but not terribly inspired. "Okay, I'll talk. I'm sorry."

"What for?" he asked in confusion.

"Being a jerk last night," she told him. "It was last night, right?" She added with a confused expression. "I haven't lost a day?"

"It was last night," he assured her. "And I'm sorry too."

She shook her head gently. Come to think of it, her neck didn't feel that great either. She added that to her mental list of gripes. "Dinner was a sweet thought, and I was a grump. You deserved better than that. I still don't know how you managed it all."

She felt him shrug. "I'm sorry I did it when you'd already been on duty for ten hours," he said. "I knew the schedule — hell, I made the schedule — and I should have waited until your day off. I was just trying to get it set up so you'd be surprised. I didn't realize how tired you'd be."

"Okay, so we're both sorry. Forgiven?"

He kissed her gently on the top of her head. "There's nothing to forgive."

She let out a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding, shifting her body to try to escape the pain and not managing to do anything more than make it worse. This was miserable.

"You okay?"

"Just hurts," she told him. "Keep talking. What did they find out about the Viper?"

Then she listened for awhile as Lee told her what had gone on with the landing gear and the subsequent rescue efforts. She was fairly impressed that they'd done it so quickly, but to her it had seemed much longer. She had felt like she'd been under the Viper for hours. Part of that was probably not getting enough air, she decided. She hadn't been very alert.

"It was pretty dumb to crawl under there with me," she told him when he'd finished his story and had become quiet. "You wouldn't have let anyone else get away with it."

"Probably not," he admitted, his arms tightening around her slightly. "But I wasn't in that much danger. I couldn't fit anything under there but my arm. It's a good thing you're so skinny, otherwise you wouldn't have fit. Tyrol had it propped with a six-inch ladder."

"I'm glad he thought to stick it under there," she admitted. "I thought he was just falling when I saw it come down."

"He must have felt the gear giving way," Lee thought aloud. "I owe him my thanks. Maybe a decoration."

"He'd deserve that anyway," Kara told him. She was getting sleepy, and doing her best to stay alert so she'd keep taking deep breaths. The only good thing she'd found about the situation was that the deeper she tried breathing, the less her chest really hurt when she slipped back to the shallower breaths. She'd gone from a sharp pain to a dull ache, but even that was an improvement.

"Yeah, he would."

Kara lay there a moment longer before asking him again to talk to her. "I'm too tired to stay awake on my own," she admitted. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Me either," he said. She tried not to feel guilty about his staying with her; it had been his choice, even though she had encouraged him more than a little. Besides, at the moment she was far too grateful for guilt.

"So talk."

He did. He talked about the pilot rotation, and the schedules he should be putting together. He talked about Evans, and how well he'd managed the crisis in their absence. He talked about his father, and how he'd come running to the Life Station when he'd found out she'd been hurt. He even talked about how he'd set up their date — the people he'd gotten to help him and the strings he'd had to pull. She didn't say much, but he still kept talking. Kara tried not to dwell too much on just the fact that she was enjoying hearing his voice.

Kara didn't remember very much of the next few days. She had a vague memory of the accident, and an even vaguer idea of the first couple of days in Life Station, but other than that it was pretty fuzzy. She assumed it was the medications that Doctor Salk had finally given her. He'd been right about the second day, though. She remembered that pain, although it seemed far away now. For the last day or two she'd been getting better. She had some colorful bruises any place that she'd had bone meet Viper or deck, but at least Salik was allowing her food now, and she didn't need the pain medications any longer. She was also able to stay awake, and breathe and talk without pain. In all, she was ready to get out of bed and get back to work.

She was completely bored. Lee had gone back to work, as much out of guilt as necessity. He still came in to spend the nights with her, although she wasn't sure he was getting all that much sleep. Still, while she hadn't asked for him to stay, she wasn't going to argue with his choice. She loved being in his arms, even if it was in a fairly public location with a lot of disruptions and more onlookers than she could count.

She'd been rather disoriented in those first days anyway, so as much as she hated to admit it she really hadn't missed him when he was at work. She knew that several friends had come by at one time or another because they'd left notes and treats for her, but she didn't remember them being in the room either. Again, she chose to blame the medication rather than considering herself rude.

No one had been by this morning. She'd been laying awake in bed for the last couple of hours, growing steadily more restless. Earlier, she had managed to get herself into the tiny bathroom and clean up a little, although she hadn't been able to bend over well enough to stick her head in the sink to wash her hair. She had settled for combing it back out of her eyes. She had put on the clean sweat pants and tank tops that Lee had left for her along with a joke about how small they were, and the tanks made her grateful that her arms didn't carry the same bruises that her legs did. There was still a little yellow discoloration from Lee's grip during their argument, but it was nothing compared to the bruises the Viper had left on her legs. Now she was just sitting in bed wishing that she had something more to do.

Salik was out of the Life Station for the morning, so she couldn't even nag him to let her out. She thought she might even be able to talk him into it today. She was eating okay, had walked to the bathroom on her own as he had demanded she do prior to release, and she didn't need the pain medication. Granted, she wouldn't be climbing in or out of Vipers for a few more days, but she was well enough to be out of this place. If he'd just show up, she decided she'd tell him just that.

"Morning!"

Kara turned towards the door with a smile at his return. While he had spent the night next to her, he'd left an hour before to check in with the flight deck and check on Evans' progress with the rosters and assignments. "I thought you were on duty," she told Lee in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking a day off," he told her with a wink. "I happen to know the guy who makes the schedules."

"Right," she told him with a laugh as she scooted over to make room for him to sit on the bed. It had become as much a habit as anything else — another fact she chose not to analyze. "That's why you work twice as many hours as anyone else."

"Actually, Evans is making the schedules," he admitted. "I'm just enjoying them. He wanted to try his hand at days for the rest of the week. I decided he could have it. I haven't taken any time off in the last couple of months, so I figure I have it coming."

Lee sat down on the space she'd made for him and leaned in for a second good-morning kiss. This too had become somewhat of a tradition when he left her for work, and it was one she definitely wanted to continue. She loved the way he took his time about kissing her, and she let herself enjoy just a few minutes of not feeling like an invalid. He had put a hand on either side of her body, and she was able to slip her arms around his neck as he leaned over her. The kiss went on for a long time, sweet and gentle and mostly innocent. He concluded it with a couple of light pecks, as though he didn't want to stop. She liked that thought. "I'm glad you're here," she told him quietly.

"Me too," he admitted. "And you're about to get happier."

She raised one eyebrow. "Yeah?" She wondered if that was possible given her current condition.

With a flourish, he fanned out the cards he'd brought in with him. "I refuse to bet," he told her quickly, and she thought it was in response to the wide-eyed surprise she must have shown when she saw them. "But at least it will pass the time."

She couldn't stop her smile that time. He hated playing cards with her. Even when money wasn't involved, he always complained that losing so much wasn't good for his character. "We have to bet," she argued with a wink. "That's what makes it fun."

"For you," he muttered in a mock-sullen voice. She knew he wasn't really upset about it from his tone.

"How about we play no losers?"

Another mock glare from him. "How do you suppose we do that?" he asked as he pulled a tray closer to the bed and over their laps. She spared a thought that the rolling hospital tables were actually pretty convenient.

"Play for something you don't mind losing," she suggested.

"This isn't the time or place for Strip Pyramid," he grumbled.

"Fine, so we play for kisses. You lose or I lose, it's all pretty much the same. Fair?" She held her breath as she waited for an answer. She was still new at thinking of him as more than a friend, but the last few days had taught her that time was indeed limited, and if she wanted this to happen she was going to have to step out of her comfort zone and let it.

"Are we getting or giving?"

"Probably a little of both," she told him with another wink. "Winners get to initiate; losers get to enjoy."

He shook his head with a soft laugh. "I'm closing the door," he told her firmly. "And nothing below the shoulders. We're not exactly alone here."

She laughed with him. "Fair enough."

He took up residence next to her once he had the door closed, and dealt the cards evenly onto the table before them. She was a good enough sport not to peek at his cards, although it would have been easy enough with him beside her.

"I'm in with one," she told him with a smile.

He looked over his hand. "Raise," he countered. "This may be worth at least three."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Not exactly subtle, are you?" she asked. "Okay, I'll bite. Three. What do you have?" She didn't have much herself, but she didn't mind letting him win the first hand.

He fanned the cards down to the table. First level of a pyramid; not bad. She had about half of that, but then she hadn't traded any cards. "You win," she admitted. "You get three."

He gave her a grin that made her want to retract the offer, and then pushed the table out of the way to give himself room to turn to and reach her without a lot of effort.

The first kiss was sweet, simple, and very much like his good morning. "That's one," he said softly right against her lips. Then he kissed her again, just a little deeper, a little harder, and a little more. She wasn't complaining. "Two," he whispered, and the word was almost another kiss in itself.

"Do I get to kiss back?" she asked him, licking her lips at the prospect.

He watched her mouth, grinned once more, and nodded. "Ready for three?"

"God, yes," she mumbled.

When he met her lips this time, he was smiling. He kissed her as though he'd always been doing it; as though it were the most natural thing in the world. It was hot and deep, and as much as she tried to kiss him back she still felt like he was in direct control of it. She didn't mind — well, not much — but it was an odd feeling. She slipped her arms around his back as the kiss continued, more passive than participating, but enjoying it all the same. When he raised his head, she was the one who was smiling.

"Ready for another game?" he asked, as though he hadn't just had his tongue in her mouth. That thought had a shiver running up her spine.

"Um, yeah," she said, trying to gather her thoughts. Cards. Pyramid. She was good at this. She'd always been lucky with cards.

The next couple of hands went more predictably. She won, but his bets had been low. She might have been the one initiating those kisses, but he was still the one doing most of the moving around. It was still pretty hard for her to change position quickly. She didn't mind that, though. He let her lead, and she got to explore a little, and he didn't seem to be too disappointed when his hand wasn't the winning one.

He had finally won his second hand about half an hour — and maybe ten kisses — later. "My turn," he told her with a grin, and took his position above her. He got two this time, and she was ready.

The first was about like his last one; long and sweet and thorough. When he finished, he pulled back a moment and met her gaze. She wasn't quite sure what was in those blue eyes, but for just a moment she didn't trust it. Warily, she watched him descend again. And then she forgot everything.

It wasn't one of the sweet and mostly innocent kisses that he had been sharing with her. This kiss was almost rough, barely restrained, and it demanded a hell of a lot more than just lying there and enjoying. Her arms went around his neck almost reflexively, and she held on for dear life. Should she have set a time limit? she wondered absently — there wasn't any room for true coherence — because this kiss was going to kill her.

Just about the time she realized that there was very little chance of ending this at just a kiss, she heard a sound in the room that distracted her slightly, but only slightly. She did her best to ignore it until she felt Lee pulling back, his head ducking to end the kiss and get out from beneath her arms, and his breathing so fast and hard that it was almost funny.

Feeling more than a little put out, she opened her eyes to see his gaze fixed, not on her, but on the door. She followed his eyes and blushed blood red.

"Hi, Dad," Lee mumbled, doing his best to move back to a more respectable distance. Kara wished he'd just stay still; he would be a nice object to hide behind.

"Sir," she said with a squeak to her voice that she couldn't keep out.

William Adama's eyes were just plain amused. "Looks like a good morning," he said with a wink at his son. Kara didn't think she'd ever seen Lee quite that color before.

Giving up, Kara leaned forward, grabbed Lee by his shirt, and buried her face in his lower back. He had turned it to her in order to face his father, but she wasn't quite willing to do the same. Not just yet; she settled for peeking around Lee's side.

"I just came by to see if you needed anything," the Commander said around a huge smile. Kara was glad that someone found this amusing; her definition was more along the lines of mortified.

"She's better this morning," Lee filled in when she stayed silent.

"Good," Adama said, and still she could just hear the amusement in his voice. "If she's up to it, I brought along someone who wanted to check up on her."

Kara's eyes closed again. Death didn't sound like such a bad idea, she mused. Maybe there was a Viper she could sneak beneath to hide when all this was over. The logical part of her mind was telling her that she'd only been kissing someone — and Lee at that — so it really wasn't a big deal. They were both fully clothed, and it wasn't as though their relationship was a total secret. But the logical part of her mind was most definitely in the minority at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself together and lay back against the head of the bed to see who her visitor was. Gratefully, she was lying down when she saw him, because she likely would have pitched forward to the floor if she'd seen him before that.

There standing in the open doorway, wearing an expression that was far more speculative than Adama's amused smile, was Colonel Paul Tigh.

Kara wondered then if it was possible to die from embarrassment, and knew that in the next few moments she would definitely find out.