Eight
Thirty agonizing minutes later, the doctor approached the anxious duo. "He's on full life support now. We've hooked him to a renal regulator as well. This might buy us some more time."
Adama had expected the worst. He was in shock. "He's not dead?"
"Not yet."
"So, there's still hope?"
The doctor refused to meet the father's eyes. Kara was angered at the doctor's attitude. "Answer his question!"
"I suspect the Captain had a living will in his medical files. We don't have those. It's the only reason I put him on the machines. I haven't met a pilot yet, who'd want to be kept alive by these drastic measures. It won't last forever. I might be able to keep his systems functioning by machine, but once it hits his brain, you'll have to make a decision."
Kara and the doctor could see the Commander suppress a shiver through his body. He drew in a deep breath. "Keep your people working. We'll find the vial. There will be no giving up on my son."
The doctor opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. It wasn't the time. There were a few more hours before the brain would be damaged beyond return. He owed the Commander that much.
Without asking permission, Adama moved past the doctor and returned to his son's side. Kara followed, silently. Kara could only stand at the end of the bed as more machines had taken their place at the opposite side of the bed. If possible, Lee looked even feebler then before. Gone was the oxygen mask, he was now intubated. A central line to his chest had also replaced the intravenous line to his arm. Kara watched with fascination as the new tubes to his arm pumped his blood out of his body and then another brought it back in. "You have to stop this." The words came out of her mouth as a whisper.
"WHAT?" Adama rose to his feet and glared at her in anger.
"He called for you. He knew he was dying. He said 'good-bye.' You have to let him go." She had no idea where these words were coming from. She wanted nothing to do with losing Lee or hurting her Commander, a man who was like a father to her.
Adama pulled her from the bedside and across the room. "DON'T you EVER speak like that around my SON! He is not going to DIE! He will fight this."
Kara Thrace didn't show any emotion other than anger. She'd nearly cried when Lee returned from the dead at Ragnar. This was too much, however. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She had no idea whether it was her heart or her mind speaking, but she couldn't stop it. "He doesn't want to fight anymore. Look at him! He said it. He loves you. Let him go!"
"I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON MY SON! I would give my life for him."
"But, Sir, you can't. The only thing you can do for him right now is let him go. Just this once, let him know you love him and support him. Be with him, NOW, but let him go. Show him you do respect him and the person he is, or was. For once, respect his wishes."
Adama's eyes were black with fury. "GET OUT! How dare you call yourself his friend? GET OUT!"
Kara was numb. Behind the anger, she saw his pain. She'd gone too far. She'd struck a nerve that was too much for him to bear. Frak, it was too much for her. She walked past him and began running through the corridors. She wasn't dressed for running but she wanted to punish herself. She wanted her body to feel as badly as her soul.
Adama struggled to control his feelings. When he finally had, he returned to his son's side. He watched his Lee's still face. Kara's words bounced in his brain. He couldn't shake them. He knew she was right. He was trying to hold onto his son for his own selfish sake. It was the story of his life. He'd placed his career above his family and now he was placing his need to be absolved above his son's wishes. 'My honor, Sir.' Adama shook his head, selfish or not, he wasn't letting his son go. His son's last words to him would not be military, not as a Captain to his Commander but as a son to his father. He picked up another letter from the box, which had been shoved aside and began again to read.
Sharon was tearing through her locker. She couldn't shake the fear from her dreams. She needed to be sure she wasn't guilty. She tore apart every inch of her belongings looking for evidence. Tucked deep in the back of her locker was a small black pouch. She didn't recall ever seeing it. She pulled it out and unfolded the flap; she dumped the contents into her hands. Included were one empty vial and one full. She froze in her place. In her mind, she saw herself getting Lee a cup of coffee. Before she turned to bring it to him, she dumped the contents of a vial into it. She was sweating and shivering all over. She had done it. Yet again, she had woken up and found evidence that she had done something wrong. She had no concrete memory of the actions, only vague fuzzy images. She quickly put the vials back in the pouch and straightened her locker. The door crashed open and Starbuck thundered in. Sharon thrust the pouch in her pocket and turned to face Kara.
"Are you alright?" Sharon asked tentatively.
"FRAK NO! Lee's dead and the old man won't let him go." Kara was pissed. She wanted nothing more then to be alone and scream and cry. It was all too much. She paced the long narrow room. She stopped in front of her locker. She opened the door and just as quickly and with all her might, slammed it back shut.
Sharon gulped. "He's dead?"
"Just as well. The only thing keepin' him alive is machines. The Commander won't let the doc shut 'em off."
"There's still hope."
"FOR WHAT?" Kara caught her voice. "It won't be long before this poison makes mush of his brain. Then what? Keep him alive as a vegetable forever?" She drew in several deep breaths. "I wouldn't want that. Lee certainly wouldn't want that. Frak! Who would?"
"They could still find something." Sharon risked a hand on Kara's arm.
Kara looked at her friend. "We hit the end of the frakin' world. Do you mean to tell me you've got a miracle left in your back pocket?" She quieted and shook her head. "Maybe the lords are sparing him." She waved her arms in the air. "It ain't like we got a lot of hope. Any moment we can be blown to dust by the Cylons. Maybe he's the lucky one."
Sharon looked at her feet. "I have to believe there's hope, for the Captain and for us all."
"Yeah, well you're doin' better than me."
Kara pulled off her shirt and headed for the showers. Sharon hit on an idea and began tearing through the various containers in the pilot's quarters. Kara called out to her from the shower. "What the frak are you doing?"
"Trying to help."
"How? Messing up the place?"
"The Colonel told everyone to be on the lookout for the vials that might have contained the poison. So, I'm searching in here."
The shower stopped and Kara stepped out and toweled off. "You don't think one of us did it?" She stopped and stared at Sharon.
Sharon looked around the room in frustration. "I dunno. But it feels better to try something."
"Try to find the bastard who did it."
"We have been. Do you know something that can help?" Sharon asked a bit nervously.
"Yeah. I'm gonna be looking for the fraker with a big smile on his face." She returned to the washroom.
Sharon glanced around the room and decided she couldn't risk "finding" the vials here. It had to be somewhere more populated. She ran through the plan in her mind. She made her way back to the mess hall and began her 'search'. She had stopped at the head on the way and wiped the vials clean of her prints and carefully tucking them back into the pouch. She scanned the room for a location to stash it. It needed to be hidden, yet not impossible to find.
Several CIC staff were eating and asked what she was doing. She told them she felt the need to do something for the CAG and was searching. The men nodded to each other and watched her checking obscure places. Sharon was able to stash the vials behind a cushion. She was certain one of them had noticed her pull various cushions forward and she purposefully left them askew. As if the Lords were smiling on her, she was paged to the flight deck. She left the mess, praying the others would continue her search.
One of the men started to push the first cushion back and decided the Lieutenant hadn't been pulling them far enough out. He pulled the cushion out and seeing nothing, pushed it all the way back. The procedure was repeated several more times before the man stared at the sight before him. "FRAK!"
His friends looked to the man, stunned at what he held in his hand. "You've done it. Those have to be it." The men were eager.
"We should bring this to Life Station immediately. There might still be time to save Captain Adama." They were all eager to share in the success. They left the mess hall in a run.
They ran down the corridor and burst into the quiet room. "We FOUND IT!"
Commander Adama glanced at his son before rising to check out the shouted announcement. Major Cottle was already accepting the pouch and pulling out the vials.
"Lords! Where did you find this?" Cottle was already walking toward the door to the lab, not waiting for an answer.
Commander Adama was waiting. "Where did you find it?"
"In the mess hall. It was behind a cushion." The young Ensign spoke confidently.
"Why?"
"Sir?"
"Why did you look there?" The Commander seemed overwhelmed. It unnerved him.
"I… We wanted to help the CAG. Others were searching as well."
Before the Commander could offer his thanks, the door to the lab opened. Major Cottle stepped out. "This is it!"
Adama forgot the others in the room. "The cure?"
"No. But with the poison isolated, we have somewhere pure to start." He pointed toward Lee. "Go tell your son to hang on."
Adama sucked in a deep breath. He returned to Lee's side and whispered the good news and words of encouragement to his comatose son.
The break spread like wildfire through the ship. Sharon smiled when she heard the news on the deck. She excused herself and went to find Kara. She found the frazzled pilot punching the wall of her rack. "Guess what?"
"I'm not frakin' in the mood for games, Sharon."
Sharon decided she wouldn't drag this out. "They found the poison."
Kara sat up straight. "What?"
"Major Cottle's got it in the lab now."
Kara didn't wait. She jumped out and ran from the room.
Adama looked up from the latest letter when he felt a twitch begin in Lee's hand. Hope filled his heart. Lee's hand had twitched before he woke last time. He smiled as he waited for his son's eyes to drag open. His smile faded as the spasms spread from the hand he held throughout his son's body. Soon his body involuntarily thrashed on the bed. Monitors and sensors screamed with Lee's agony. Nurses flooded the sides and Adama felt himself pushed backward. Major Cottle was nowhere to be found, but another doctor arrived and ordered medicine to still his son's body. Precious minutes elapsed as they waited for the tremors to fade. For a brief moment, it seemed they had won. Lee's body stilled and the monitors ceased their screaming. The moment was fleeting and the monitor again screamed, this time due to a flat line that moments before had danced across the screen.
Adama stepped back. He knew if he didn't fade into the background, someone would force him out. They assumed a man shouldn't be there to see the drastic measures needed to try and save his son. Time and time again, they applied paddles to his chest in an effort to force his heart to resume beating. Nothing seemed to be working. The young doctor and anguished father made brief eye contact. Adama sensed the man wanted to call Lee's life over. Seeing his Commander and a grieving father, he continued efforts to save the Captain. Adama whispered to the air. "It's alright Lee. You fought hard. Let go. I'm sorry. I've always been proud of you. I do love you, Son."
