Disclaimer: In a shocking turn of events, I have been unsuccessful in my efforts to steal Battlestar Galactica. So nothing but this story and the ideas contained within it belong to me.
Author's Note: Gaius and Six's part is yet to come, but they're being difficult and I thought I should give you something.
Good morning, sir.
Good morning, Starbuck. What do you hear?
Nothing but the rain.
Grab your gun and bring in the cat.
Boom boom boom.
Life getting any better?
CAG said he might let me go out on patrol tomorrow, if I behave.
Will you?
I plan to, sir.
I know it's been hard, Kara—
Nearly one year without flying has been frakking impossible.
But you've been doing well. If he doesn't let you, I'll talk to him. You've done enough deck work by now.
I know the innards of a Viper just as well as I know the cockpit, sir.
Kara—next week. Come by my quarters. I don't want to spend the day alone, and I don't think you should, either.
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
"Dad, what's going on?" Lee asks, moving his chair closer to Kara's so she wont fall on the floor in one way or another like she's threatening to do. The smell of alcohol is heavy in the air.
"Kara, do you remember what you told me when I asked you why Zak died?" his father asks, ignoring him. Lee starts to retort—perhaps he's been hanging around Kara for too long—but Kara beats him to it.
"I can barely remember what I frakking said last night."
"Sir, can't this—"
"Lee. Captain. This is important. Kara, you told me they thought there was a computer error involved with Zak's crash."
"Um—you'd already heard about it," Kara agrees, taking another few gulps of her coffee. Her eyes are starting to clear a little, and he guesses the topic sobered her up faster than any coffee or cold shower.
"I received some information today, about an hour ago, that the computer error might have been deliberate."
Kara shakes her head and stands up, lurching forward. His father, who stood up at the same time, catches her and holds her hands when she blindly lashes out. "No. No, you're frakking not doing this to me, you hear? You can't. You're lying. You're frakking lying."
"Kara, you haven't even heard—"
"I don't want to frakking hear what you have to say!" she says angrily, pulling away and standing toe to toe with his father, a position Lee's been in far too many times.
"Kara—" Lee says, stepping forward and pulling her away from his father. He expects the punch and just barely dodges it, and so Kara misses. But she continues drunkenly through, and ends up hitting his father. She stops dead, face stark white, as his father grabs her hands again.
"Kara," William Adama says gently, pushing her back down into her chair. Lee can only think that this is the first time he's ever seen her speechless. "Please listen to me?"
She nods wordlessly and clutches her mug of coffee so hard, he's afraid it's going to break.