Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Chapter 4
Kara eventually cried herself back to sleep. Lee knew better than to even try to sleep himself, so he got up, got dressed, and was working on some paper work in the outer room when there was a knock on the door. He got up to answer it so as not to wake Kara. He opened the door and found his father standing there.
"May I come in?" his father inquired.
"Of course!" replied Lee. "What brings you to the Pegasus so early?" as his father entered the room.
"Is Kara here?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
"She's asleep," said Lee. "In my bed," he added, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"When I learned of your request to have her removed from the flight rotation for a few days I assumed it was so she could be near Anders. Then when I saw Dr. Cottle and asked him how Kara was holding up, he informed me that she has never even been by to see him. Would you like to explain to me what's going on?" he said as he tried to keep the anger he was feeling out of his voice.
Lee knew his father well enough to know he was barely keeping his emotions in check; it just served to make Lee feel even more defensive.
"I was trying to keep her from being hurt. This man who managed to sweep Kara off her feet killed a woman in cold blood while he was drunk, Dad. That could have been Kara."
"What made you think he was drunk?" his father asked.
Lee looked confused. "The medic who brought him in said he had alcohol on his breath and that he reeked of the stuff."
"Blood alcohol tests came back indicating a minimal level was in his system. The fact is, Lee, you have been jumping to conclusions. For Kara's sake, we owe him the benefit of the doubt until he wakes up and can tell us what happened. You knew he was secretly working to help us identify Cylons hidden in the fleet; this may have something to do with that. You also must know how much Kara cares for and trusts this man; I knew that the minute she introduced him to me. She has good instincts, son. I suggest you trust them too." He turned to leave.
As Admiral Adama opened the door he said softly, "You need to try and repair any damage you may have done to your friendship with her before it's too late." He turned and added in a much harder tone, "I expect Starbuck to be back on board the Galactica within the hour. Good day, Commander." as he closed the door behind him.
Lee stood there stunned. He had forgotten that Samuel was supposedly going to help try and identify Cylons hiding among the civilians on the other ships. He hadn't taken the news seriously because in his mind Anders would always be just a pampered pyramid player.
"Oops," said a voice behind him. "It seems that you may have neglected to fill me in on a few tiny details, Commander."
Lee spun around to see Kara fully dressed and leaning on the door frame, her jaw set and her eyes ablaze.
"Kara, I didn't think--"
"Oh, you were thinking alright," she interrupted him. She walked coolly over to him and stood just inches away from his face. "You were thinking just how to play me, and what an opportunity you were handed! You could frak with my mind, frak with my body, and frak with Sam's reputation too, for good measure!" she was yelling at him.
She took a step back to take in a breath to help her reign in her emotions. What she wanted to say to him next she wanted to say without emotion in her voice. She didn't want him to think she was saying it only in the heat of the moment.
"And we both know which one of those was the worst frak in the history of fraks."
She let those words hang in the air a bit before she continued. "But now, I feel gratitude towards you. Yes, really I do. Because even with all your lies and innuendos I could never make myself believe I had been so wrong about how Sam feels for me. You've also helped me realize just how much I'm in love with him. When he told me he loved me I was so scared I felt like pushing him away and running away myself. But last night, after what happened between us, all I could do was cry because I knew I loved him with all my soul and no matter what I tried to do to forget him, and no matter what he may have done, that wasn't going to change."
"And there's one more thing I'm grateful to you for, Adama, and that's having the rank of Commander. Because that got you out of the cockpit, and I don't ever have to worry about being the wingman for someone I don't trust enough to watch my back."
She yanked open the door and walked out.
Lee felt frozen to the spot where he was standing. Kara had so thoroughly managed to slice him up with that sharp tongue of hers that he felt if he moved, pieces of him would collapse in a heap. He continued to stand there contemplating the two conversations he had just had. Obviously his father had been right; he had jumped to conclusions. Just because Anders hadn't been drunk, though, he had still apparently killed that woman. She was the one that had produced that flattering report about the people serving on Galactica. Why would she have produced such a glowing story if she had been a Cylon? A more negative story would have sown discord among the entire fleet. It didn't make any sense!
The things Kara had said to him, though; those had been far worse than the disappointment he had heard in his father's voice.
The worst frak in the history of fraks…you've helped me realize just how much I'm in love with him… I don't trust you enough to watch my back.
He wished he could be mad at Kara. He was so good at feeling righteous indignation towards her when she frakked up. Now their roles were reversed; he had been the one that had frakked things up, and she was showing him no mercy. How many times had he done that to her? How many times had she tried to explain things and he had shut her out? Kara always seemed to know that eventually he would calm down, listen to what she had to say, and forgive her. He hoped that same pattern would hold true now, but somehow he doubted it. After all, he had just helped drive her into the arms of Samuel Anders. Left alone Samuel's declaration of love for her would probably have led her to distance herself from him. Lee's concern for her had backfired into driving them together. With him to run to why would she need Lee in her life? Why would she even want Lee in her life?
Why oh why had they revived him after his crash in the blackbird?
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Author's note: This is the first fan fic I have written. Is anybody reading it? I would appreciate comments, good or bad. Thanks!