Thanks as always for the responses to this story - they make me smile, and smilin's a good thing. This chapter was kind of a strange one to write, but hopefully everyone comes across in character.

Disclaimer: BSG still ain't mine, darn it, but at least they let me play with it.

Thanks for reading!

Too High a Cost
By: Mariel

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Chapter 12

Recompense

Lee couldn't see the President.

"Frak!" he exclaimed. He knew exactly what the crazy woman had done and in that moment hated her for it. Suddenly understanding some of his father's frustrations concerning her, he turned and said, "I can't see the President! She's frakking gone back after my father. I've got to go get her." Using his fingers to rake back the wet hair that lay slick against his forehead, he cursed a few more times as he tried to think.

Kara had no trouble figuring out what had made the President turn back. She also knew Roslin wouldn't have stopped to consider the danger she was putting everyone else in by doing so. Reaching up, Kara gripped the wet sleeve of Lee's jacket as he began to head back in search of Roslin.

Lee hesitated, then helped her heist herself up to her feet.

Not letting go of his arm, she told him, "I'm coming too."

He stepped back, releasing himself from her grip. Seeing their window of opportunity for meeting with the Galactica slowly closing, he told her, "No. You keep going. It's not that much farther." He began backing away in the direction he knew Roslin had taken. "Let Sharon and Helo know what's happened and that we're coming." He turned his head to look towards the escarpment. "I'll bring her back if I have to drag her by the hair," he said.

Kara's eyes widened at the anger in his voice. "Lee," she told him, "I don't think that will be necessary. And Sharon and Helo will figure out something's happened when we don't show up. They'll wait as long as they can. I'll be more help finding Roslin. It's going to be dark soon."

There was no time to argue, and no point in trying to pull rank. He felt something inside him sink. They were all so frakked...

"Fine," he said hurriedly, "but give me your handgun." No way was he going back without a weapon.

Kara quickly took it out of its holster and offered it to him.

Grabbing it out of her hand, Lee turned. "Watch my back," he said as he broke into a run.

Ignoring the pain shooting through her ankle, Kara adjusted her rifle over her shoulder and hurried after him.

The sound of occasional gunfire gave them directional guidance. Subconsciously taking comfort in the fact that they could distinguish the sound of Colonial weaponry being used, they moved quickly. Adama was definitely still alive. The question, of course, was where and in what state they would find the President.

Turning a corner and beginning to jog up a slight incline, Kara looked ahead and saw the red eye glow of a cylon in the distance.

"Lee!" she hissed. "Stop!"

He came to a sliding halt on the muddy ground and turned. Panting heavily, he asked hoarsely, "What?"

"One o'clock!"

Lee turned and looked through the trees. A good number of metres ahead, he could partially make out the form of a single Centurion walking across the path they were presently on. Instinctively, he raised his weapon, then thought better of it and began to move forward carefully, in order to get within a range where he knew he could hit and destroy it.

He had gone forward only a few steps when he heard the President's voice scream his father's name. The desperation in her tone made him pause uncertainly.

The cylon opened fire.

Reacting quickly, Lee raised his weapon again and began firing as he surged forward. As he'd hoped, it drew the cylon's attention. Stopping abruptly, it quickly turned to face him.

Kara saw the cylon's turrent arm extend their way. Yelling a warning, she jumped to her right.

Lee dove to his left, hitting the muddy ground with a thud. Quickly rolling behind a tree, he rose to his knees, swung his arm up, and fired off two quick rounds.

The cylon's head exploded with a satisfying spray of metal parts and its body fell to the ground.

Lee lowered his weapon, enjoying the sense of triumph he felt. Frakkin' cylons were getting easier and easier to kill.

With an exclamation of approval, Kara lowered her unfired rifle and rolled onto her knees to get up. Her teeth gleamed as she smiled at Lee's marksmanship. She'd tease him later about the gods finally giving him the ability to shoot straight.

Quickly getting to their feet, they raised their weapons and moved forward carefully, their eyes raking the surrounding area for other cylons.

As they neared the area the cylon had fired upon, they paused and lowered their guns. Listening carefully, they could hear nothing but the sound of rain splattering against shivering leaves and wet ground With middle dusk creating deeper shadows, it was increasingly difficult to see, so by silent, mutual accord they separated and began to desperately search the area. The fact that neither Adama nor Roslin had presented themselves after the cylon had been downed filled them with a fearful sense of urgency that made their hearts pound fiercely in their chests.

Lee heard a cry of dismay from Kara and turned to see her motioning to him.

"Here, Lee!" she called out before dropping to her knees

Something in the sound of her voice struck icy shards of dread into his gut. He rushed towards her-

And felt himself flung back. Distantly, he wondered what had hit him. A muted scream he recognised as Kara's filled the evening air and more shots rang out.

Falling to the ground seemed to take a long time. He winced as his head hit something hard. Suddenly weary, he closed his eyes.

-xxx-

"Lee! Frak it! Wake up!"

Lee screwed his eyes open and looked up at Kara.

"What?" he asked groggily.

He felt like hell. How long had be been asleep? He winced at the pain in his head. What the frak had he been drinking? And why was Kara yelling at him?

He looked up at her and drops of water fell into his eyes, making him blink.

Where the hell was he? Why was he soaking wet?

"What happened?" he rasped, his throat feeling dry in spite of the water trickling down his face.

"You've been shot. You fell and hit your head. Get up! You've got to help me! I found your father and the President!" She shook him roughly. "Get up, dammit!"

"Shot?" he asked. Conscious thought slowly reappearing, he realised he was in pain. Excruciating pain. It pierced through the fog shrouding his mind and he finally remembered where he was. Rolling over, he carefully got up on his knees, and then, with Kara's help, rose.

He swayed on his feet.

"What shot me?" he asked, fighting for his balance and grimacing in pain.

Taking quick inventory, he realised he'd been shot in the right arm. He winced as his left hand moved to support it. The right arm and shoulder, he amended. He shrugged, continuing to check himself out. Decent movement, so nothing shattered. He looked down at himself. It was hard to tell how much blood he'd lost, but he didn't think anything vital had been hit.

A wave of dizziness and nausea rushed over him, and he held his breath, willing himself not to black out or throw up..

"There was another cylon. I got him," Kara explained quickly as she braced herself slightly against the weight he suddenly placed on her.. "There doesn't seem to be any more around." When Lee stood on his own again, she took hold of his undamaged arm and began to drag him towards where she'd found his father sprawled on the ground, the President's body draped over him. "I know you're hurt, but this is worse," she explained as she pulled him forward.

Reaching the two bodies, she dropped to her knees beside Adama's head. "I think they're both alive, but they don't look too good, and I can't get either one of them to wake up. I'm scared to move them, Lee, in case I make something worse." She looked up at him helplessly. "We've got to get help-" She stopped abruptly, unable to figure out a way of getting two wounded, unconscious people - plus a dazed and shot up Lee - to the raptor.

Lee understood her unspoken dilemma. There was no way they'd be able to get his father and Roslin to the raptor in time.

Holding his wounded arm tightly against his body, he looked around. "Gods," he asked, "How the frak are we going to do this?"

--

"Funny you should ask," said a familiar voice from behind him. "Guess we got here just in time."

Lee spun around. Later, he would be unsure whether it was the surprise of finding Colonel Tigh and Major Cottle striding towards them or the concussion he had received that made the world spin at a dangerous tilt for a moment.

Cottle quickly walked past him and knelt beside the two bodies lying at Lee's feet. "Gods, what have you people been doing down here?" he asked. Pressing his fingers to Adama's neck, he felt for a pulse. Frowning, he shook his head and then angled his hand so that he could do the same for the President.

Looking up at Lee and Tigh, who had moved closer to watch, he said crankily, "Step back, will you? People are coming to help. We need space."

He turned his head and glared at Kara. "You, too," he ordered.

Turning back to Lee, his eyes registered the holes in the young man's shirt. "Those bullet holes?" he asked.

Lee nodded.

"Hold still while someone looks at you," he ordered. He shot a glance at the medic who had followed him and Tigh out of the woods. "The Commander here has got himself shot. Give him something for the pain, then fix him up enough for the ride home."

"He fell and hit his head on a rock, too. He was unconscious for a while," Kara said.

Cottle had turned his attention back to the two lying on the ground. "Take a look at his head, then, too," Cottle said tersely without looking up.

Reminded of her presence and the fact that she hadn't backed off when he'd ordered her to, the doctor cocked his head to glare at Kara. She maintained her position beside Adama and glared back, silently daring him to even try making her move.

"How is he?" she demanded.

"How does he look?" he snapped. His hands reached out towards Roslin. Moving her hair aside, he lifted one of her eyelids and shone a light into her eye, then moved to repeat the process with Adama. "They're both alive and reactive," he said in a more reasonable tone. Before she could say more, he turned his head and yelled into the rainy darkness, "Where the frak are the stretchers?" Turning back to Kara, he continued, "Barely, though. I don't like the looks of either of them. There'll be internal damage, for sure, and Adama's messed up his insides once already." He paused to look at the two lying in front of him, then made a decision. His eyes moving from Tigh to Kara, he ordered, "Help me move her off him."

Gunfire sounded in the distance, and everyone started.

"Don't worry,: Cottle reassured them, "that's the marines taking care of any cylons in the area." Shooting a glance at Saul Tigh, he said, "The Colonel here brought the whole stinkin' calvary with us."

Everyone relaxed and turned their focus back towards the two bodies on the ground.

Following his orders carefully, Kara and Tigh helped the doctor roll the President off Adama and rest her on the ground next to him. Kara then quickly took up her former position beside the Admiral, her hand resting on his shoulder.

Lee stood watching the activity with trepidation. The shot provided by the medic had relieved his pain, and it had been good to discover that the cylon shells had gone through him cleanly and with little internal damage. Neither the shot nor the news, however, had alleviated his anxiety. Not taking his eyes off Cottle and what he was doing, Lee ignored whatever torture the medic was performing on him.

When Tigh had finished helping with the President and had moved back to stand beside him, Lee said, "Not that I'm not grateful to see you, but I thought the order was that no one come down after anyone."

Tigh shook his head ruefully. With his attention also glued at the proceedings surrounding the President and the Admiral, he said, "Yeah, in a manner of speaking, I guess that's true, but unfortunately, we had a kind of insurgence happen once people learned what was going on. When it looked as though no one was going to show up at the rendevous point, too many people made it clear there was no way in hell the fleet was going anywhere without at least looking for him first. Not without risking a mutiny, anyways." He looked at Lee and then turned his gaze towards Adama. After a moment's silence, he continued gruffly, "Following his orders would have exacted too high a cost, Lee. Everyone knew it, most of all, me. We need him. He holds things together. Sometimes I think he's the only sane one amongst the lot of us."

His words hung heavily in the wet air for a moment, then he shifted his feet and inhaled deeply. "Anyway, I had a bunch of resignations attached to requests to come here to find him, the President, and the rest of you." He shrugged. "I was kinda caught, wasn't I? I mean, that was how I rationalised Agathon and Valerii going with the President, right? So I figured what the hell, why not make the frak up of a mutiny complete? I joined the party, set up a team, and here we are."

Lee winced as the medic probed a particularly tender spot. "I think you just didn't like the career change."

Tigh grunted. "Damned right. The benefits are shit. The quickest way of getting out of it was to get him back. He can have the pleasure of yelling at me about it later." He grinned mirthlessly. "Looks like it'll be a while before I have to worry about him kicking my ass for it."

A sound to their left made both men straighten quickly, then relax as people with stretchers finally appeared.

"It's about frakking time!" the doctor berated them. "I told you to keep up! You can sightsee on your own time!" he told the tired men who arrived carrying bags of medical gear plus the unwieldy stretchers. Giving orders about being careful and not frakking things up, Cottle oversaw the President being carefully lifted and placed onto one of the stretchers.

Cottle frowned when he looked down at her. She had looked no better on her back than she had draped face down over Adama, and she appeared to be weakening fast. He yelled orders at the medics, ending with, "Get her to the raptor and get her hooked up to some blood, fast!"

Unconsciously stroking Adama's hair, Kara fought back tears as she despaired at the amount of blood that soaked the Admiral's shirt.

Cottle looked down at her. Reading her thoughts, he softened slightly and gruffly reassured her, "It's not all his, Thrace. By the looks of it, the shots went through her and into him. A lot of that blood is hers. Her weight pressing on him probably saved him from bleeding out."

His moment of gentleness abruptly over, he gestured with his hands and said, "Now get out of the way. We need to get him moved. You can hold his hand once we're back aboard Galactica." Turning to the waiting medics, he ordered, "Get him moved. And be careful with him. He's lost a lot of blood and his pulse is irregular. Watch his breathing. too; his lungs may be filling up with blood." As the medics quickly moved to follow his orders, he looked around. "Shit of a place to get shot up," he grumbled. Turning his collar up against the persistent rain, he bent his head to shelter the flame he put to the end of a damp cigarette. Inhaling deeply, he coughed roughly, then turned to frown at Lee and Tigh.

"It's time to get this show on the road. I'd appreciate it if you people in the audience would kindly get a move on. We've gotta get them back to the Galactica ASAP."

He looked at Lee with piercing, dark eyes. "You need help?"

Lee shook his head. The pain killer was working fine. "I'll walk," he said.

"Suit yourself," Cottle said in a disgruntled tone. Turning, he began to rapidly follow the medics to the raptor.

Falling into step beside Tigh, Lee held the bandaged arm that now lay snugly ensconced in a sling and asked, "Where did you land?"

"Pretty close to where the Admiral left his raptor. We met up with Valerii and Agathon as they came out of the forest. They were running like the dogs of Charon himself were chasing them." He grinned grimly. "You should have seen the look on their faces when they saw us! Even Bill's cylon looked surprised," he snorted. "We told them to get the stealth raptor ready. They'll fly it back. Bill and the President will come in ours."

"Where are all the cylons?" Kara asked as she fell into step behind them.

"We threw them a bone to chase," Tigh said cryptically. "They've left, for the moment."

"No kidding," she said in a dazed voice.

Cottle's voice drifted through the wet foliage at them.

"Shut up and get moving! We're not waiting for you!"

Kara cast a parting glance at the spot where Adama and the President had lain.

Kobol had had its taste of blood...She closed her eyes, praying to whatever gods were listening that this time it be only blood and not lives that the gods demanded.

End
Chapter 12