Lee stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel as he did so. At the very least the water was warm, and he felt a hell of a lot better clean. He scrubbed himself with the cloth, then his hair as well, leaving it spiked and sticking every which way before he wrapped the towel around his waist.
The plastic wrapped around his medication site was annoying, but it was better than having an IV pole and tubing attached. He slipped on clean underwear, shirts, and finally his pants. He almost felt human again. Almost.
He had slept most of the day before, regardless of being upright at Kara's bedside, but the coughing hadn't allowed it to become a sound sleep. She had slept as well, which was a good thing. The problems had started this morning when she'd awakened to feeling better and being in a bed. Kara didn't do well with those two factors; he didn't think either of them did.
This morning when Salik had come to Life Station, Lee had been unceremoniously kicked out of Kara's room. Annoying – hell yes – but it had been then when he'd developed the need for a shower and some clean clothes. He hadn't bothered with either since he'd been brought back to the ship. Gowns and robes were fine if you were sick, but Lee didn't feel that way; not anymore.
In fact, he felt pretty damned good. While Kara had been asleep when he'd left her, most of the morning she'd been giving the doc a hard time. She hadn't been quite her old, energetic self but she'd been close enough that he hadn't minded leaving her alone. On the other hand, she was more moody than usual, so he had tried not to dawdle as he cleaned up. He'd only been half kidding with the remark to Sharon that he needed to get back in case she decided to kill someone else. Her emotions were even less predictable than usual, and that was saying something.
Cassie, on the other hand, had been more than predictable. She had been pretty great, actually. She'd been around most of the time since he'd been awake, and she was good about checking on both he and Kara without making him feel as though she were hovering. She wasn't fussy, and she wasn't annoying. And unlike the med tech he'd dated – had it been only a couple of weeks ago? – she didn't attempt to grope him at every opportunity.
And yet aside from being grateful for adequate care without fussing, Lee didn't feel a thing for Cassie. Nothing. It bothered him, because he really thought he should. He'd had excuses for not getting tangled up with other women in the last six months, but he couldn't think of a single reason not to be interested in Cassie. Still, he wasn't. War or not, one would think a man should show some interest in a beautiful woman. Shouldn't they?
So not being attracted to Cassie bothered him in a way that he couldn't quite define. Before the war, Lee hadn't objected to female companionship. In fact, he'd been a little less than discriminating in his younger years. Most of the guys at the Academy had been the same. Women seemed to like men in uniform, and there was no reason not to take advantage of that fact. On the Galactica, everyone was in uniform so it really didn't matter. There was also a ratio of about ten men for every woman, so most of the time he didn't worry about staying clear of the opposite sex. The women had enough other men to pursue, and they didn't make any effort past an initial rebuff. Usually. But the fact that he wasn't interested now, following a life or death situation, was eating at him.
The only thing that bothered him more than feeling nothing for Cassie was feeling something for Kara. Something. There was a lot of history between them, so he'd assumed that friendship was what they shared. They were almost family after all – would have been if Zak had lived – so she was rather like a sister. It made sense that he'd worry this way about a sister, but he was too honest to leave it at that. Honesty had always been important to him; he saw no reason to lie to himself.
So Lee had begun putting some things together in his mind, and he wasn't sure how he felt about his conclusions. First, there was his reaction to the rumors that she and his father had something going. It had bothered him far more than it probably should have. His father had a right to get involved with whomever he pleased, and rank really wasn't much of an issue since the decree that reproduction was everyone's primary responsibility. Age probably shouldn't be an issue either, especially where having babies was concerned. Women had to worry about a biological clock, but men didn't. And yet it had bothered him. He had been way beyond furious, saying things that were rude and cruel and completely inappropriate. He didn't think he would have gone off that way if his father had been accused of involvement with anyone else – just Kara.
And if anyone else had taken a couple of days to wake after a rescue such as the one they'd experienced, Lee honestly doubted that he would have been worried. He might have been concerned, but that would be the most of it. With Kara, he'd been a wreck. He'd had trouble eating, hadn't slept well, and couldn't have left her side if his life had depended on it. It was terrifying, and the implications of it were even worse. What in hell did he feel for Kara?
And that was the problem – he knew his answer. He felt a lot; more than friendship, more than affection, and the feelings were not those of a brother. So he knew what he didn't feel; and wasn't quite sure what he did, but might. Having sorted that out, where did it put him?
Right back where he was before, he decided. There was no way Kara felt the same way. Sure, she'd backed him up more times than he could count, and she'd been a good friend to him when he hadn't had many in the squadron, but that was a long way from feeling something… different. She was his best friend; how could he mess that up?
But he felt something for her that he hadn't felt for anyone else in longer than he could remember: honest attraction. It wasn't just her appearance, although she was a delight to look at, but her energy and personality and yes, even her penchant for beating the crap out of others and profanity that he needed to look up in a dictionary to fully appreciate. She was… fascinating, for lack of a better term. She kept him on his toes.
She also challenged him professionally, and he liked that. In all honesty, he couldn't say the same for anyone else in the squadron. They weren't bad, but every pilot he was working with was second rate. The Galactica's primary squads of pilots had been lost in the first wave of attacks, leaving only those who were injured, incarcerated, or otherwise out of the cockpit. In recent months, he and Kara had been busting their butts to get pilots trained, but until they faced an attack they wouldn't know if they'd been successful or not. Kara on the other hand could fly the pants off him. He loved it.
Did he love her?
Lee came to a dead halt as he walked the corridor from squadron quarters to the Life Station. Love? Holy shit.
He roused himself from the stupor that one simple word had put him in, aware that others were walking past and around him in the hallway. What had begun as a simple mental curiosity as to why he wasn't attracted to a med tech had turned into something else entirely, and he was fairly sure his conclusions would earn him a black eye at the very least, and possibly a broken jaw to go with it.
Did he love Kara? Hell, she was going to kill him.
Kara winced as Cassie took the IV out of her hand, applying a gauze pad where it had been to stop the bleeding. "Hold that," the tech told her firmly as she let go of Kara's wrist to dispose of the remaining fluid and set the glass bottle on a nearby counter. Kara did as she was told, holding pressure on the site and watching the tech move efficiently around the room.
"How many techs are in Life Station?" she asked abruptly. Kara had only seen Cassie, but she knew there had to be more.
"Six," Cassie answered. "But we try to assign one person to rooms, that way patients don't have to get used to a lot of faces.
"Makes sense," Kara muttered, peeking beneath the gauze to see that the wound was still seeping blood.
"I said hold that," Cassie said, closing her hand over Kara's to increase the pressure applied.
"Yes, Sir," Kara muttered.
Rather than getting a groan or an admonishment, the tech gave a laugh and put her hands on her hips as she regarded Kara. "You really hate this, don't you?"
"This?"
"Getting stuck in bed; being told what to do."
Kara shrugged. It wasn't her favorite; that was for damned sure. "When can I get out of here?" she asked.
"As soon as you've urinated," Cassie answered. "Your vitals have been stable and you're keeping down food and fluids, so all we need to do is be sure your plumbing is working alright."
Remembering the catheter they had removed, Kara winced involuntarily. She'd had the horrible things on only a couple of occasions – once for an extended long patrol and once when she'd had her appendix taken out – but she hated them with a passion. She was just glad it was out and that she would be leaving soon.
"Where's your other half?" Cassie asked as she cleared away the rest of her supplies and placed them on a nearby shelf.
"My what?"
Cassie turned and faced her with a grin that was just shy of challenging. If it had been any closer, Kara might have hit her whether she'd liked the tech or not. "Cute," Cassie said in a wry tone. "The guy has been glued to your side since he woke up. You can't tell me there's nothing happening there." Cassie's head cocked to the side as she continued to look at Kara, who was unable to shut the mouth that had dropped open in absolute shock. "Or can you?"
"What in hell are you talking about?" Kara said, and only the confusion she was feeling kept the anger at bay. She wasn't used to accusations; most people had better sense than to make them around her.
Cassie's expression went from humorous to almost sad. "You don't even know, do you?" she asked softly.
Anger was definitely edging in on her confusion. "Know what?" she asked in a tone just shy of deadly.
Cassie shook her head, looked around, and then smiled again more gently. "We couldn't get him to leave," she said softly as she gestured to the chair that Lee had used, still sitting beside the pillow Kara hadn't bothered to move. "We asked, threatened… hell, Salik wanted to sedate him. He just sat there and watched you. He looked like he was worried you'd disappear if he wasn't looking at you. Honey, that's over and above the duties of a CAG, even a good one."
Kara relaxed as comprehension dawned. "We're friends," she told the tech, peeking under her gauze to see that the IV site had finally stopped bleeding. "We have been for years."
The smile faded from Cassie's face, leaving only the sadness. "That's more than friendship, Starbuck. At least on his end of it."
"You're insane," she remarked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Cassie gave a shrug. "Have it your way. In any case, let me know when you've used the latrine, then we'll get you out of here."
Kara nodded as she watched the tech leave the room. Her eyes settled on the pillow, now cold but still bearing the impression of Lee's head. He'd stayed, she thought. He had stayed, even when he shouldn't have. Did that mean something? Did she want it to?
Damn. Kara almost sighed as she turned the thought over in her mind. Adama men were never simple, that was for sure. But Lee didn't show any of the signs that she was familiar with when it came to romantic interest. Zak had been almost fawning, complementary, and most definitely affectionate. Lee wasn't really any of those things. And yet, could she really compare the two? Lee's answer to a test was to study his ass off, while Zak would try to charm the questions out of the instructor. Lee was known for keeping out of trouble, but Zak had been legendary for getting into it. If they were so different in every other aspect, why should this be any different?
And why was she even worried about what Cassie had said? After all, the tech barely knew Lee; couldn't know Lee if she'd come to that summation. Okay, so he'd been worried. They had nearly died together; he'd had reason to be concerned. And she had been out for two days longer than he had been, which would have made her nuts if their situations were reversed. She could understand his worry and she would have felt the same way, likely done the same things.
But that didn't mean she was in love with him. It meant… they were close. Not that kind of close, but close enough to care. Close enough to worry.
And yet Cassie's perceptions continued to eat at Kara. Matters weren't helped when Lee arrived, looking and smelling a lot better than he had, even if the cough was still both annoying and persistent. He had an odd look on his face, and he didn't say much when he came in beyond a hello and asking how she was, but she tried not to notice that. What she couldn't ignore was that he looked absolutely everywhere except for at her, and she didn't think it had to do with her treatment of Tyrol. Lee had seen her mad before – had even talked her down a couple of times – and it had never gotten to him before. Finally, after fifteen minutes of his avoiding her glance, she broke.
"What's wrong with you?"
His eyes finally snapped to hers, but they didn't stay there and she could have sworn there was a slight redness to his features. She wondered if he was running a fever again. He'd said that was how they'd known to check his lungs for the pneumonia. "Hmm?" he asked innocently.
Innocent… right. "I'm over here," she remarked blandly.
Once more his eyes met hers only to be averted, and she was left with no more knowledge than she'd had before. Damned Adama men were a pain in the ass, she thought to herself. She had just enough sense not to say it aloud. He was sick, she was still tired, and oddly she had no desire to fight with him. It was rare, but she was just too damned tired.
So they sat in an uncomfortable silence until she asked him if he wanted to leave.
"I'm fine," he told her. "I'll stay until you're ready to go back to squadron. You said they were sending you back, right?"
"As soon as I pee," she agreed. "Of course, they didn't bother with giving me anything more to drink, so it may be a while."
"You want something?" he asked. Lee waiting on her… that was different.
"Not really," she admitted. "Just out of here."
He nodded, but she didn't think he really understood. She would have suggested a couple of hands of Pyramid to pass the time, but cards didn't sound all that inviting now. So she closed her eyes and tried to rest, rather than pondering the mysteries of the male mind.
He didn't make any more sense half an hour later when she finally felt the need to use the facilities. He called Cassie for her, and then left the room while she was taken to the head; annoying, really, as he could have walked her there himself. It wasn't as though they hadn't seen one another in their skivvies before, and hospital robes covered more than underwear; co-ed living quarters were notorious for peeks here and there – it wasn't talked about, but everyone knew it happened. Besides, she wasn't more than a little wobbly, and that was from being horizontal for too long. Still, she was back in her bed and thoroughly annoyed before he reappeared.
"Where'd you go?" she asked before he could get through the doorway. "I thought you were gonna take me to the bathroom."
He gave a shrug, blue eyes not on hers. Frak, why couldn't he look at her? "Not my job," he mumbled. "Figured you'd pass out and they'd blame me."
She thought about that a moment, and then laughed. She was taking all of this way too seriously. Lee was just Lee, and he'd never made much sense. Except that he had, and she didn't want to dwell on how much that change bothered her. Then again, the last few days had been pretty rough on both of them. Hell, she hadn't thought either of them would live to get to this point, so she decided to just slow down and quit jumping to conclusions. "Sorry," she told him. "I'm just… wired, I guess."
"You sure you're ready for squadron quarters?" he asked in concern.
She nodded adamantly. "I hate this place," she muttered. "I just want to get some real clothes and be in my own bed."
"That one's bigger than yours," he commented as he nodded to the bed she was sitting on. "And you still aren't real steady. I'm sure they'd let you stay another day if you were willing."
She shook her head at that. "I really don't like hospitals," she told him.
"You ever gonna tell me why that is?" he asked.
"No," she said simply. Thankfully he didn't press the issue, as she had no intention of telling her life's story. Well, not again. He knew most of it anyway, she decided. Even though it had been the beginning of what she considered her childhood, memories of awakening in a hospital bed with strangers around her and her only family gone, pain so severe that no medication could relieve it, and confusion on top of everything else… She knew that it was all distorted by a child's mind, but it felt real just the same. She hated hospitals, and that was that.
She glanced down at his arm where there was still some kind of device sticking out. "They spring you, too?"
He nodded. "Mostly. I come back twice a day for medication," he explained as he showed her the site. They need the beds for people who are really sick." He grinned for a moment. "Well, that and I've harassed poor Cassie until she's ready to kick me out of here."
She looked at it a moment, not really liking the thought of things sticking out of him, but then she'd just had a few such things removed from her own body so she imagined that she was more than a little biased against medicine at the moment. "We'll, I'm free. Salik says light duty for seventy-two hours, then I come back to get cleared."
Lee gave a wistful sigh as he walked beside her while they exited the Life Station. He stayed close, but not touching. He was just close enough to catch her should the need arise. She supposed she should have checked in with the techs before leaving, but she really just wanted out of there. She preferred Lee's company to theirs. When she gave him a curious glance, he didn't need the question to know what she wanted to find out. "I've got drugs for another week, and then they'll decide based on my lungs." He looked pitiful at the thought. "I'd rather just get in a Viper and go."
She nodded at that, understanding completely. Being grounded was like death to a pilot, only worse. She felt that way herself.
The walk to quarters wasn't entirely comfortable, despite Lee's presence, or maybe because of it. She wasn't sure about some of the looks they got along the way, but assumed that most were a result of either the thing in his arm or her own attire of gown and robe. She wished belatedly that she'd had Lee bring back some clothes for her so that she wasn't so damned conspicuous, but it was a little late to worry about that.
Still, she was feeling pretty good by the time they got to quarters. It felt better to be up and moving, especially after so long on her back. She wasn't used to being still, and it didn't settle well with her. Even sick, she tended to keep on going until they made her stop, and thankfully she wasn't sick often. The Life Station had been worse than the brig; at least there, she had been able to move around without getting glared at by the techs.
Stepping through the hatch into quarters was a revelation. It was late morning, and most of second and third shift were still hanging around. She must have seen twenty heads turn in their direction as Lee walked her through the hatch, and it was only then that she remembered how quickly gossip became an issue on the Galactica. If things had been bad before, she didn't want to think about what they'd be now. She and Lee had been alone together for days in space, and he'd stuck like glue in Life Station. Rumors had flown with less provocation than that, and while initially that had been the intent of the mission – to divert attention from her and Lee's father – she wasn't sure she was happy with it being at this level. The stares were no longer speculative or curious, but frankly accusing.
Swallowing her anger – after all, in their place she'd probably be thinking things as well – she let Lee walk her to her bunk. "Thanks," she told him. "I can get it from here."
"You need anything?" he asked quietly. She'd seen his glance at their observers, but as usual he was completely unperturbed. He didn't shake easily, as he'd proven earlier that morning.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "But thanks for the escort."
"Hey Starbuck," a voice called from across the bay. "Have a good trip?"
She closed her eyes. It was nothing she hadn't dealt with a thousand times, but she wasn't really up to a full razzing by the pilots. Oddly, it didn't bother her as much as some other things. Granted, they were normally less vocal with their bad jokes,, but she knew about them just the same. She'd dealt with them since the Academy; she'd ignore any insinuations now as always.
"Yeah," she called back to Aames. "It was a barrel of laughs. You should try it some time. How about now? We'll take you down to the kitchen and toss you in a freezer for a couple of days."
Most of the pilots around him laughed, but something glinted in his eye. Oh frak, Kara thought. She was going to have to hit him. It wasn't lack of desire, but rather the lingering weakness that bothered her. She hated to throw a punch with anything less than her best behind it.
"I don't know," he said, his tone lewd at best. "There are ways to keep warm, even in space. Especially when you're not alone."
She saw Lee tense beside her in her peripheral vision, but didn't take her eyes from Aames. She didn't dare. "Drop it," she said simply.
"Drop what?" he asked, almost innocently. Shit. She'd at least hoped he had the sense to wait until Lee was out of there to start the teasing. She didn't mind taking him up on the fight he was asking for, but doing it in front of the CAG wasn't real bright. Aames must have known that, and was using it to keep her in check. He was a real candy-ass in a fight.
"Look, I'm tired and I need a shower," she told him firmly. "If you want me to beat on you, can we at least wait until tomorrow. Even I have sense enough not to throw a punch in front of the CAG."
The corner of Aames' mouth quirked up as he glanced at Lee, who was still standing tense beside her. Frak, why wouldn't he just go so that she could take care of this? "Like he'd send you to the brig," Aames said with a laugh. "Right."
"Drop it," Lee said, repeating her words, and the tone of his voice was enough to silence any murmurs that were going around the room – most likely bets on whether or not she would hit the aggravating pilot.
"You gonna make me?" Aames asked. "Is it an order, Sir?"
Kara didn't even see Lee move, but she saw the look of surprise on Aames face just before a fist connected with his left cheek, sending him sprawling to the deck. Her eyes widened as she followed the fist back to Lee, who was rubbing his knuckles as though he'd broken a hand. "Damn, I'd forgotten how much that hurt," he mumbled.
The look on his face and her shock with the situation might have made the turn of events amusing, but Aames chose that moment to try his luck with the CAG. She could have told him that it wasn't a bright idea. If Lee fought anything like Zak – which was likely as they'd learned on one another – then Aames was in for a surprise. Kara took a step back out of the way, enjoying the opportunity to observe rather than participate. It wouldn't occur to her until later just how out of character the reaction was for her; or how it might look that Lee was fighting her battles. She had never really seen him tear into anyone, and at the moment she was just taking pleasure in the show.
Aames had picked himself up and run at Lee, doing his best to bring him down. Lee didn't go. Instead, he absorbed the shock of the attempted, waist-level tackle and used both hands joined together to land a vertical blow on his attacker's lower back. Aames went down again. Kara couldn't hold back her smile.
"Stay down," Lee advised.
"Why, you…" Aames didn't finish his sentence, but he was on his feet again, and this time coming with an over-handed punch that would have done some damage if it had connected. It didn't. Lee diverted the hand, letting Aames own momentum send him back into the deck. Kara winced; with that level of force, Aames had probably broken some bones in his hand. She wasn't sorry – he deserved it – but she could sympathize.
Lee was just standing and glaring at the man, waiting for him to rise again. Thankfully, Aames had some sense. He didn't move. Kara didn't even realize initially that the collision with the deck had knocked him out. Lee turned his gaze to Kara then, and went back to rubbing his knuckles. It was then that she noticed the blood trailing down his arm, dripping to the deck. "Um, Lee…"
"What?" he asked, aggravated. His adrenaline was still high from the fight. If it had been her, she probably would have still been hitting the jerk, or at least giving a couple of kicks to finish the job. Still, injuries weren't her forte. She tended to inflict more damage than she absorbed.
"You're bleeding," she told him as she gestured to his arm.
His eyes widened as he looked at the place where his IV had been, and was now clearly gone. Blood was flowing pretty steadily from it. "Frak." He put one hand over it, trying to stem the blood flow but succeeding only in making a mess of it.
Kara shook her head and smiled. She was more than used to patching herself up after brawls; this wasn't so different. She walked to her locker, grabbed a shirt, and tossed it to him. "Use that," she advised.
"Thanks," he said dryly, not sounding very grateful at all.
A slight commotion became audible closer to the hatch, and both Kara and Lee turned to see what it was. It occurred to her then that she probably should have noticed the dead silence in the room. She probably should have noticed that with twenty pilots looking on, someone was bound to rat out the CAG. She probably should have realized that even Lee wasn't above discipline, and in a way what he had done was worse than her antics. He had not only hit an officer, but a junior officer who was his responsibility. She winced as she realized that this wouldn't go over any better than her beating on Tigh.
Two of the Galactica's marines stood in the doorway. One had a weapon drawn, and the other was close behind. Kara thought it was overkill. They never pulled weapons on her; most of them were on a first name basis with her. These two were Kevin and Archie, and they didn't have the same look of amusement that they carried when they towed her off to the brig.
"Put it away, guys," she told them as she checked on Lee's progress with the shirt. It was too bloody to really see anything clearly beyond a rip in the skin. She wondered where his little IV thing had gone. "You're going to need stitches," she told him as she put the shirt back in place over the wound that was still flowing pretty freely.
"I don't think that's my only problem," he said, and his tone wasn't amused.
Glancing back to the marines, Kara realized that Kevin still had his weapon drawn. "Kev, put it away," she told him. "And call Life Station; they have a pickup to make." With the last, she gestured to where Aames was lying on the floor.
"Captain Adama," Archie said in an authoritative voice. "You'll need to come with us."
Lee sighed. "Coming," he ground out. Then he looked down at Aames, and Kara realized he really wasn't sorry. It wasn't the heat of the moment, or the adrenaline of battle. Lee was well and truly pissed at the pilot, even though he'd thrown the first punch himself.
"Lee?"
"Get dressed," he told her. "Then get some rest. Something tells me you'll be able to find me with no problem."
She grinned at that, remembering just how many times she'd had those same thoughts. On the other hand, it seemed different with Lee on his way to the brig.
"Oh, and can you call my dad?" he requested. "I don't want him hearing this from the marines. Hell, I don't want him hearing it at all but I don't think I'll get a choice."
She nodded again. "Kev, he's bleeding pretty good," she called out to the marine who had taken up station next to Lee and still hadn't put the frakking gun away. "Run him by Life Station first."
Kevin didn't say a word, but Archie turned and gave her a wink as the trio left the quarters. She sighed, looking down at the trail of blood Lee had left over the floor, and only then giving in to the worry that had been edging its way into her mind. She hoped Lee hadn't done any damage to himself in the fight. Aames was just out, and he'd come to in due time. She'd been in that boat herself a few times, although usually she gave rather than received the beating. A couple of times she'd run up against someone who didn't mind hitting a woman, and had the advantages of height, weight, and speed. It hadn't happened often, but it had happened.
Rather than dealing with Aames still form, she turned to the small group of pilots who remained in the bay, watching the show with more than a little amusement. These were probably the ones who had been betting on the fight's outcome. "Okay, who's the narc?" she asked in a disgusted voice.
No one answered, but then she hadn't really expected anyone to admit it. They had put the CAG in the brig; hell, they probably thought they deserved a prize. But she swore that if she ever found out who it was, she would be sure they didn't consider doing it again.