Again, I am humbled. I hope you like this chapter. There is only one more…
Nine
Kara Thrace entered life station and approached her Commander as he finished his words. No one had heard him. Adama only prayed that Lee's embattled soul had heard them. Despite the chaos, Kara began to move forward. Adama reached out and held her back. It was his turn. "Let him go."
She turned to face him and he watched the powerful emotions surge across her face. Her lower lip trembled and she bit it to hold herself together. "I was wrong." She whispered.
"No, you weren't."
Silence fell over the room. The doctor had given up and stepped back. He was about to turn to Adama and pronounce the death, when a beep flared on the heart monitor. It was soon followed by another and another. Everyone stared at the erratic, thin, green line, overwhelmed.
Kara smiled. "Stubborn Frak!" She enjoyed a few more blips from the monitor screen before turning back to Adama. "See, I was wrong."
Adama closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "I heard he gets it from me." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed briefly. Both sent silent gratitude to the lords for yet another chance.
The young doctor approached Adama and Kara. He shook his head slowly. "I don't understand it. I… I don't…" He couldn't finish his statement. He glanced back to the monitors. The nurses dispersed to their other duties. The doctor followed them once a regular rhythm had been established. He was seen shaking his head for some time thereafter.
Adama returned to the stool by his son's side. Kara found another and they created a silent wall of comfort around their loved one. After some time, Kara spoke softly. "They found the poison. It won't be long before they find a cure."
Adama nodded, but said nothing.
"It seems Lee has found another way to surprise me." She was hoping to continue idle chatter. The silence was getting to her. Truth be told, the entire situation was quickly proving too much for her. She needed to shout, to move, to do anything but sit and wait.
"How so?"
Although it was her intent, the reply from him surprised her. "He keeps fighting."
Adama frowned ever so slightly. "That surprises you?"
Kara looked back at Lee. "I guess not." She paused. "The guy lives by the book but still manages to keep up with me."
Adama turned to look at her. It felt like he saw through to her soul. "You don't have to stay here. I'll keep you posted. There's nothing you can do here."
She weighed his words, feeling suddenly very guilty. "I can't leave him."
"Why not?"
"If it were me in that bed, he'd never leave."
Adama nodded. "So, we wait."
"We wait." She drummed her fingers on the edge of the bed. "What's in the box?"
Adama ignored her. He loved Kara Thrace like a daughter, but he knew the contents of that box weren't his to share with her.
"So, when do you think we'll find Earth?"
"Lieutenant, get a book!"
She smiled. She knew she was getting to him. She also knew Lee would appreciate it. She resumed a silent mode but used the time to plan ways to get even with Lee for putting her through this. She knew it wasn't his fault, but the revenge planning gave her optimism and something to do.
"We got it!" Dr. Cottle was running to Lee's bed. Several hours had passed. He all but ignored the duo and barked orders to the nurses across the room. "Demerten and Pathol, big doses. Get 'em, NOW!"
Adama just watched. Although hope was filling his heart, something gnawed at him. "WAIT!" The doctor stared at him, confused by the outburst. "He can't have it. Demerten. He's allergic. He had it as a child and it nearly killed him." He glanced at the box of letters. The incident from Lee's youth wasn't written in the lines of the scented paper. He'd been there in person. Lee had become so ill, Adama had been sent home on emergency leave. He'd forgotten about those hours of anguish, wondering if his little boy would live. That he had forgotten the incident seemed impossible to him at this moment. He knew he'd never forget this experience.
"FRAK!" Cottle slammed his hand on the edge of the bed.
The doctor from earlier joined the group. Adama found himself wishing he could remember the man's name. A moment of inspiration flashed on the young doctor's face. "Can we substitute it with Cashermet?"
Cottle looked down at his patient. "It's not as strong, but we've got nothing to lose."
"Should we test it first?" The eager doctor asked.
Cottle looked Adama in the eye. "Commander?"
Adama looked down at his son. "No. Give it to him. We don't have time to play it safe." He knew Lee couldn't keep this battle up forever.
The new drugs were administered. The main excitement over, many of the staff went back to their previous posts. "How long until we know something?" Adama resumed his place at Lee's bedside. Kara paced at the end of the bed.
"No idea." Major Cottle looked for the face of his Commander. It wasn't there. It was the face of a father, who had experienced too many close calls with his only family, indeed, his only remaining child. The major wanted to lie to him, offer him more hope then he could. "It won't be miraculous. It had too much time to ravage his systems."
Accepting the doctor's response, Adama continued his information gathering. "Will there be permanent damage?"
Again, the doctor hedged on his words. He couldn't even promise the Commander this would work. There was no guarantee the Captain would now live. "We just can't know anything at this point."
The doctor left Adama and Kara alone with Lee. Adama thought back to that time, years earlier. He couldn't even remember how old Lee had been, very young. Was Zak even born? Where had he been? He and Caroline had been closer than ever in that time. They depended on each other to stay strong. Now, he found himself missing his wife like never before.
Within 48-hours, Lee began to show improvement. His systems were beginning to return to more normal functioning. There was always someone with him. Various pilots, the Colonel and even the President had been by to check on Lee. None spent much time with him. There was nothing they could do. Adama and Kara had taken to sleeping on a cot rolled into the room. They alternated their time between their duties and Life Station. The only sleep either got was at Lee's bedside. Three days after discovering the vials, the renal regulator was removed and he was extubated. An oxygen mask still motivated his lungs. Lee had shown no sign of consciousness.
Late in the fourth night, William Adama woke for no apparent reason. He pulled himself up from the cot and stretched the various limbs on his stiff body. He moved to the stool and gazed at his son. Lee's color was better and the oxygen mask revealed slow, deep breaths on a regular basis. He grasped Lee's limp hand. It was warmer and he basked in that simple fact. He'd come too close to losing his son. The doctor had tried to warn him that although Lee would live, they had no idea if he would be the same man. Brain damage was still a possibility. Adama buried these fears down deep. He refused to consider that his son had fought this hard, not to regain his former life. Certainly, a near death experience altered one's beliefs, but Lee was a warrior. He'd faced death before.
His thoughts were interrupted by a tremble in Lee's hand. His gaze went from Lee's face to his hand and back to his face. A huge smile lit Adama's face. Lee was scowling. He was fighting to wake up and emotions were flashing across his face.
"Lee?" He waited for a response. "Wake up, Son." He thought about assuming a command tenor, but couldn't bring himself to be a commander at that moment. He wanted to be Lee's father. He wanted Lee to wake to his dad.
Lee was struggling. Somewhere inside him, he felt a warm presence and could hear a familiar voice. He didn't have much strength, but he tossed his head lightly in an attempt to clear his thoughts. Cold. Suddenly, he felt cold at his lips. He flinched but accepted the iciness into his mouth greedily. It felt good.
Adama was holding the spoon with ice chips along his son's lips. They were dry and cracked from the tube and continual rush of air through the mask. He knew his son's entire throat would feel the same way. He noted Lee's eager response and added a few more ice chips. Lee began to choke on the chips as the cold water dripped down an unprepared throat. Adama pulled his son's head up slightly.
"Thanks." It was small and quiet, but to the exhausted father's ears, it was life.
"Welcome back. We've missed you."
Lee didn't try to speak more. The one word had been too much. Through his tired and blurry eyes, he could see the exhaustion in his father's face. He seemed to have aged. Even Lee's muddled mind knew he had caused that. As his father replaced the oxygen mask, Lee offered him as much smile as he could muster. It was enough. His father returned the smile and Lee carried that image with him back into the darkness.
Kara and Major Cottle arrived shortly after Lee had drifted back to sleep. They both noted the smile on Adama's face.
"He woke up?" Kara's smile matched his own. She knew she was right.
"Yes." Adama beamed.
"Did he recognize you?" The doctor wished he had been there to run neurological exams.
"Well…" Adama chuckled. "I guess so. He smiled, tried to speak and took some ice chips."
"He smiled at you?" Kara asked suspiciously.
"Yes."
"So, he is brain damaged?" Kara displayed a huge grin. Adama laughed louder.
"I think you've both finally cracked." The doctor looked anxiously back and forth between the laughing pair. "Why wouldn't he smile at his father?"
