A/N- Once again, thank you for all the reviews! Here's the next chapter- it's a bit longer than the last. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think of the Kara/Lee interaction. :)

Chapter Three

Lee crept into the private room that Kara had been given. He carried a peace offering; a clean pair of sweats, the book she had been reading and her wash bag. She was sleeping, blankets twisted around her slim body as she tried to find a comfortable position. He leaned over the bed, trying to get a clear look at her sleeping face. She shifted in her sleep, perhaps sensing Lee's presence looming over her.

He reached over to brush a strand of silken blonde hair back from her face. As his fingertips grazed her skin, she opened her eyes. If she was shocked to see Lee leaning over her, she didn't show it. She shoved his arm away with surprising strength, venom blazing in her eyes. Anger lent her cheeks colour, the pink flush at odds with the paleness of the rest of her skin.

"Come back for another go?" She spat, sitting up with difficulty. Lee reached over to help her, only to have her slap his hands away again. The IV line in her wrist caught and pulled. She winced, dropping her hand at her side, but not before he'd seen the blood leaking from the wound. He wanted to cover it, stop her loosing any more of the precious fluid, but he knew she'd never let him touch her.

"Kara…" It was his turn to say her name. His tone was desolate, pleading for her to listen to him. Just like she'd pleaded with him. The guilt flared up again, and he hated himself for his actions. What right did he have to stand there and beg for her to listen to him when he hadn't been able to offer her that courtesy?

It was her turn to ignore him. Even as sorrow took hold, he couldn't blame her. The colour in her cheeks had died away, leaving her looking paler than he'd ever seen her. It tore at his heart, while he guilt tore at his gut.

She glared until he backed away from the bed, leaning over to pick up the stuff he'd brought her. He laid them on the foot of the bed, folding the sweats neatly. It was a cover, hiding how much his hands were shaking.

He heaved in a deep breath, feeling like there was a metal band around his chest, preventing him breathing properly. "Kara, I'm sorry." He whispered. "I was so very badly wrong. I'm not surprised that you hate me. Hell, I hate myself pretty much right now."

"And you think that coming in here, begging for my forgiveness is going to help?" She said scornfully.

"I don't know… I hope so." He admitted, keeping his eyes on the floor. If he looked in her eyes, he'd drown in the guilt that was consuming him slowly.

"It's not that easy." She retorted, "What you said… what you said fracking hurt, Lee. You've been mad at me before, but you've never been that mean." She forced out.

"You didn't deserve it, Kara. No-one would have. I was worried, and angry, and I took it out on you because you were an easy target." Lee confessed.

She scoffed, a little smile on her face. "You were worried?" Her eyes said, how do you think I feel, you fracking idiot?

He found that he could answer the question in them. Kara couldn't be scared. She didn't do scared, his mind insisted. Only, a deep place in his heart knew that she did. That same deep place knew she must be terrified by the illness that had invaded her body.

"Gods, Kara. I really screwed up, didn't I?" He said, voice dead flat with guilt and anger at himself.

"Yes, Lee. You really did." She said quietly, fiddling with a thread on the blanket covering her.

"Can you ever forgive me?" He asked in the same tone. He wouldn't blame her if she said no. How could he?

"I… I don't know."

The young nurse that Lee had spoken to earlier came into the room, and Kara fell silent. Both of them watched as the nurse checked the machines that Kara was still hooked up to, writing her findings down on a clipboard that she had taken from the end of Kara's bed.

"What's your name?" Lee asked, anything to break the heavy, uncomfortable silence that hung in the room like a cloak.

"I'm Winter." The nurse offered, replacing the clipboard. She picked up the items Lee had dropped on the bed, slipping them into a cupboard next to the bed. Straightening the covers, she frowned at Kara's hand, where her IV line had pulled loose.

Gathering some supplies, she cleaned the sticky, half dried blood from Kara's hand, moving the line and re-inserting it. Lee kept his eyes on Kara's face, deeply pained when she winced as the needle pierced her skin. Sticking a dressing over the wound, Winter taped it all into place. She hung a bag of blood, attaching it to Kara's IV line. Finished for now, she smiled at them, leaving the room.

A strained truce, fragile at best, started when Kara offered "Third one today." There was a catch in her voice, a little scared note that they both picked up on.

Lee was transfixed by the blood dripping into Kara's arm. "I really am sorry, you know." He said, feeling his eyes start to burn. Somehow, the little scene in front of him had hammered the reality of Kara's illness home for him. He didn't know what to say, how to behave.

"Sit down, Lee." Kara said tiredly, "You're making the place look untidy."

He sat, wishing he could hold her hand. They could both use a little human contact right now. He inched his chair closer, taking her hand. She tensed, as if she was going to pull away, but let him wrap her hand in his warm fingers.

"How do you feel?" He asked, after a few quiet minutes had dragged past.

She shrugged, averting her eyes. "Tired mostly… a little sick." She said, not telling him that her bones ached like she'd just run a marathon. Not mentioning the fact that she was scared half out of her mind by the fact she could be dying.

He was about to ask her more when doctor Cottle walked into the room, accompanied by Commander Adama. It was time for Kara's biopsy. Once that was done, they would know exactly how bad her illness was. The three men looked at her. None of them had ever seen her so scared. None of them ever wanted to see her that scared again.

Doctor Cottle stepped towards the bed. "Kara. It's time." He said.