Three

Lee's first stop was the hanger deck. Arms shot to salute as he charged through. He responded without thought. His mind was set on one thing and one thing only, his ship. He wanted to see the damage for himself, trace the hole and dip his finger into the puncture.

"Chief!" His tone was as close to a bark as Lee had ever given.

Chief Tyrol had seen the Captain coming and felt a small need to hide. He'd never really liked the Captain. Tyrol couldn't understand why the man didn't seem to respect the commander, his own father. It annoyed him, however no amount of animosity could allow him to wish ill for one of his pilots. He'd never forget the look on the Commander's face when they pulled the Captain from his ship. He drew in several deep breaths and brought his body to ramrod straight attention. "SIR!"

Lee returned the salute briefly. "At Ease." He did notice the man didn't relax much. "When will my ship be flight ready?"

"It already is, Sir."

Lee was surprised. "How bad was the damage?"

"There was a small puncture in the main oxygen tank. We replaced it. She's ready, Sir." He paused a moment. "Only Cally and I have touched her since, Sir."

Lee smiled. He hadn't expected the Chief's words to bring him such relief. His tone softened as he replied. "Thanks." He paused and ran his hand along his ships wing. "Where's the old tank?"

Chief Tyrol prided himself on knowing his pilots. He knew the Captain would want to inspect the damage. Of course, it hadn't hurt that so far the Commander, the Colonel, the Sergeant and Starbuck had done the same thing. "Right this way." He walked a few steps with the Captain and lifted a tarp.

Lee bent down and examined the hole in what had been a part of his ship. "It's tiny."

"Yes, Sir, but no less deadly. The size only allowed you to get farther out before the seal burst and tank began leaking."

Lee stood back up. "I'm sure you've already been asked, but do you have any idea?"

"I wish I did, Sir. I don't like the idea that someone just waltzed in here and messed with one of my, eh, the ships…" he added more quietly. "Or one of my pilots." He resumed his normal voice. "I hate the idea of it being one of my men who did this."

"Tell me about it." It was a casual statement for a Captain to make. Lee reproached himself internally. The Captain's attitude impressed the Chief.

As the Chief and Captain talked, Kara Thrace was taking her job as bodyguard very seriously. Although outwardly calm, her eyes were continually scanning the environment. Not only was she looking for physical traps for her Captain and CAG; she watched people's reactions to his appearance. Did anyone seem unusually nervous?

She thought back to the conversation in CIC. Sergeant Hadrian insisted that all pilots were at risk. They had considered all options. Was it another jealous pilot? Had it simply been a freak accident? Was it another Cylon attack on the battlestar? They knew they had at least one Cylon among them. They hadn't been able to locate the infiltrator yet. Hadrian had argued that all pilots needed extra supervision, as they were all targets. The Commander and Colonel had agreed and ordered the necessary steps.

Kara Thrace knew they were wrong. She didn't know who had attacked Lee Adama, but she knew he was their only target. She'd tried to argue the point, but couldn't bring herself to announce the real reason for her beliefs. They all loved Lee. Commander Adama had held together when he thought he had lost Lee at Ragnar, but the adrenaline and duty had kept him going. She knew he couldn't go through it again. If he lost Lee, he'd never be the man they needed him to be. She knew she couldn't handle it again. It had been painful when they had only just reunited, now that they had gone through so much together, she doubted her own ability to carry on. Frak, even the president had grown dependent on Lee's advice and ability to respond under pressure. The whole frakin' fleet owed a huge debt to Captain Lee Adama. The Cylons would have to be morons not to have an idea of what a devastating blow it would be to morale alone. The despair for some would be overwhelming.

"Hey! You catch the guy yet?" Sharon "Boomer" Valerii moved to Starbuck's side.

"No. You hear anything?"

"Not a word. The rest of the pilots are too annoyed by our new babysitters." Both pilots scanned the deck, scanning the added marine presence.

"Tell me about it."

"You? At least you get to be a babysitter."

"Only for Le… the CAG. He'd never let just anyone baby sit him."

"How long you planning have this job?" Sharon grinned. They had all known each other for years.

"As long as it takes to make sure he's safe." She hadn't intended to be quite so emotional. She knew Sharon had been teasing. It had hit too close to the mark.

"Think we can get him to go get something to eat?" Sharon suggested with another smile.

Kara returned the smile. "Sure." She called to the Captain. "HEY! Captain. We gotta go."

He looked at her confused. "Then go."

"I said… WE have to go. Shake a leg." She was preparing for a fun battle.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Thrace?" Lee wasn't into the game.

"You got me out of the rack and now, I'm hungry. Let's go."

"I'm not hungry. Go on ahead." He actually was, but was ignoring his body's demands.

"If you don't come, I'll tell the doc that you aren't eating and resting."

Lee debated her threat, but said nothing.

"Come on."

Lee normally didn't mind taking Kara's teasing, but he wasn't in the mood today. He needed more than ever to appear unfazed and in command. "No. Let it drop. That's an ORDER."

"Frak, you know how good I am at following orders." She walked to his side and pulled at his arm.

"Starbuck!" There was pure anger in Lee's voice.

Kara didn't really want to anger him, but she was hungry and time with Sharon in mess would be fun, especially with a pissed Lee Adama to pester. "Listen!" She hissed. "I have my orders from the commander himself. I am stuck to you like glue. I am not to leave your side. Now, you can pretend all you want, but I'm hungry and like it or not, you are, too."

Lee scrunched his face in frustration. He glanced at Tyrol, who seemed to be enjoying the showdown with several other crewmembers. He could flare up in anger or accept his fate. A growl escaped his lips. "So, my shadow, huh?"

"Yeah, now get your ass movin'."

"As my shadow, aren't you supposed to follow behind me and do what I do?"

"Frak that!"

It was two days before the doctor would recertify Lee to fly. They all knew he was seeking his own revenge for Lee's unauthorized departure from life station. True to her word, Kara hadn't left his side. She'd even barged into the head now and then, just to annoy him. Everyone held their respective breaths when Lee took his first patrol. It came off without incident. A week had passed without further incident and everyone began to relax.

At dinner with Kara, days after the incident, Lee was unusually quiet. Kara didn't like him quiet. He spent far too much time in that state. She had long ago made it her personal goal to antagonize him as often as possible. "I promise to leave you some ration slips."

Lee hadn't heard her words, just her voice. "Huh? What?"

"I figure you're so quiet, because you know I'm gonna win all your ration slips tonight."

He smiled faintly, but said nothing.

"Hey, this is me. What's up?"

"I was just thinking. Maybe it was just some freak accident."

"Maybe." She didn't sound convinced.

He was quiet again and then smiled broadly. "You're not getting my ration slips tonight. I'm feeling quite lucky."

"Yeah, right."