Chapter Six

"Kara, it's Lee," Lee tried to blink away the burning sensation in his eyes. They felt so heavy and scratchy. Tired. He felt so frakking tired. His throat felt like it was on fire.

"Trust me, we're on it," Kara assured him. He was losing his voice and Kara pushed away the panicked thought that maybe he was getting sick too. "The Old Man's getting a team together to board The Parthenon as we speak."

The passengers of The Parthenon were holding Doctor Asher Cottle hostage, refusing to relinquish him to The Galactica.

They offered to let Adama have the assistant medic team, but then the 3 assistants all succumbed to the virus. Only Cottle was left and he was the best doctor in the fleet. He also seemed to have a strong resistance to the virus, having been exposed thoroughly as he went from ship to ship as a few of their doctors died.

Rumor had it the Cylons wanted the seer aboard the Galactica and Adama was not giving her up. The Parthenon refused to give up Cottle if Adama was gonna risk the fleet for one insignificant woman.

So Starbuck and her team were going over there to get Cottle.

President Roslin was not a happy woman.

"Adama is going behind her back and she knows it. She isn't going to give him the order to grab Cottle, but she also isn't going to stop him," Kara said.

"We need Cottle's help with this antidote. We can't lose our military defense to this virus. She gets that. We have to have priority." Lee explained, though it made him feel sick inside to admit it. They had already lost too many pilots, too many officers. As soon as Galactica was in the clear, then Cottle could be lent out to the fleet to train other medics to administer the antidote. But Adama wanted Cottle on the Galactica.

"How bad is it over there?" Kara asked him.

Lee bit back a cough as he glanced around the room. It was too quiet. He wished that he could have even the sounds of suffering back, of people fighting for breath and crying out in pain as the virus wrecked their bodies. He didn't admit it out loud though. How awful was that? To want to hear people in pain as opposed to this eerie silence.

The sound of defeat. The sound that told him he'd have to go through the patients again and see how many more death had claimed because he wasn't a doctor and was just too plain stupid to save them. Lee Adama was taking human inventory at least every half hour now.

"Bad, " Lee said simply. Gods, he needed Cottle. He couldn't keep looking down at these people and trying to remember everything he saw Salik do.

Apollo had no desire to be a God.

Kara Thrace never got sick, or at least not in anyway she hadn't induced herself. Hangover, bad food, heck yes. Colds, flu's, not once in her 26 years. This virus had skipped over her. She didn't understand why. She had been standing next to Jessica when Doral had shot the water at her, yet Kara hadn't so much as sneezed since this virus had begun its warpath. Maybe she was a Cylon Kara thought wryly then shuddered. Not funny one bit, Thrace.

She sat back as the raptor made its way to The Parthenon. The pilot spoke with the ship's command center, conveying Adama's orders.

The Parthenon threatened to fire if they tried to board her.

Kara nodded silently at the pilot. The nervous man conveyed Adama's bribe. An antidote had been created and they had come to give it to Cottle to administer to the patients on the ship.

The Parthenon agreed to let them board.

The antidote was real, but there was no way in hell Adama was administering it to anyone but his crew first and certainly not without testing it beforehand so the antidote was staying on the Galactica and Kara and her team were to bring Cottle back with them, using force if necessary.

Kara met with the ship's commander, a skinny balding man named Orpheus whose black eyes narrowed with suspicion as he greeted Kara and her team.

"I'm Lieutenant Thrace. Take us to Cottle."

"Nice to hear the Galactica finally deemed us worthy of assistance. The antidote?" Orpheus held out his hand.

Kara smiled a clenched condescending smile. "Our orders were to hand it over to Cottle. No one else. I mean, what happens if you drop it?"

"Doctor Cottle is busy tending our patients--"

"Then point the way to sick bay," Kara insisted.

Orpheus tightened his jaw. "Follow me."

As soon as he left the hangar deck and led them into the tight narrow corridor towards sickbay, Kara gave her men the signal. When Orpheus led them through the hatch into the room, Kara pounced. She pulled her sidearm and ordered him to get on the com and inform his ship that unless she was allowed to leave with Cottle, she was going to kill their commander.

"Hey, there will be no flying bullets in here, got it?" Asher Cottle snapped in irritation.

Kara took a second to take in this doctor. Her first thought was about the cigar tucked between his lips. She was running low and wanted to know whether Doc Cigar Chomper here knew where she could more. His face was lined with old age but there was a vitality in his dark eyes that told her this was no old fogey.

"You'll have to tell me where you get your cigars," Kara remarked.

"Tell you that and I'll have to kill ya. Ain't you a little too missing-a-penis to be a stogie addict?"

Kara blinked in surprised amusement. "Could say the same about you, Doc Ciggy." She shot back.

""What the hell are you doing in my sick bay? Don't you know there's an outbreak going on? As if I don't have enough on my hands." Cottle turned and moved to one of the sick beds, tending to a patient.

"My orders are to bring you back to the Galactica. We need your help to administer the antidote. Our doctor died a few days ago."

"Boo hoo for you. I've got me 400 dead people here and probably 100 more by the time you get back to your Galactica and finish painting your toenails."

She smiled at him and pulled out her second weapon, pointing it at him. "This ain't a request, Doc. You tie the commander to that chair there and then you come with us."

"You stay where you are, Doctor." Orpheus ordered firmly then turned and leveled Kara with a cold stare. "You go back to Commander Adama and tell him that I will not sacrifice the innocent people on my ship while he decided to play one of the Gods and decide who's worthy of life and death."

"What do you think will happen if your 'innocent people' are left without the military? Are you gonna fight the Cylons when they attack us again? The defense of this fleet has to take priority otherwise your precious civilians will just be healthy bait for the toasters, got it? Now, Doc. Tie him up and come with us. As soon as the military is clear and we're assured that the antidote is safe enough, we'll administer it to the rest of the fleet. Not before."

"Who the hell do you--?" Orpheus objected turning to her, hatred in his eyes.

"I'm the bitch with the gun. Doc, let's go." Kara repeated.

"Frakking crazy military types." Cottle grumbled ushering Orpheus into the chair. "Damned reason I never joined up. All a bunch of nut jobs, all of you. Come on, Commander. I'm busy enough without having to patch you up if Trigger here pops a hole in your head." As he tied Orpheus to the chair he scowled at Kara. "Deal is I go with you now and then I administer this antidote to the rest of the fleet, right?"

"Would I lie to you?" Kara asked, smiling sarcastically.

"I'm going to need something a hell of a lot stronger than a stogie when all this over." Cottle sighed shaking his head.

"You and me both, Doc. Oh and as for you--" Kara crouched down in front of Orpheus so she was eye level with him. "Don't even thinking of trying to fire on us after we leave cause I'll just have come right back. You wouldn't like that." Kara promised, tapping him on his bald head.

Orpheus face turned red with rage as Cottle followed Kara out of sickbay.

"Dad?" Lee whispered panting after Adama informed him that Cottle was on board and headed towards sickbay.

William felt a shudder of apprehension at Lee's choked voice. Gods no, please.

"I picked someone to test the antidote." Lee said slowly.

His father didn't miss the stifled cough and he felt his own heart start to race dangerously. Not his son. Not Lee. He couldn't lose his son too.

"Who is it, son?" William asked slowly.

"Me, Dad." Lee said wiping the blood he had coughed up from his chin.

A.N:

Mae: Your feedback is always so fun! (laughs) Yep, I wanted to bring in Doc Cottle cause he's one of my favorite characters. Hope you like this chapter.

dark finder: Thanks for your feedback. Yep, Kobol and Arrow and all that are still gonna happen, just differently. Hope you like this chapter.

Professor Simms: Thankie for your feedback. Yep, Baltar really did come up with a cure, gets him back on people's good side a little. Hope you like this chapter too.

Lady Rheena: Your feedback always makes me smile! (huggies) My Apollo muse is muchly happy with the chocolate and he always works so hard so he never gets fat! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chiara: Thanks so much for your feedback. Jessica's powers will only be mental but Lee and Kara are gonna teach her a little bit of how to fight like a soldier. Hope you like this chapter too!

Cmf161: Thankie muchly for your lovely feedback! Lee feels safe admitting how he feels cause he doesn't think Jess can hear him. I'm glad that part moved you. Gotta have Cottle. (laughs) He and Jess certainly gonna be an an interesting pair.

TimelessEnds: Thankie for your feedback. I think I might have forgotten to mention but the assistants are either dead or sick with the virus as well so without Salik, they're pretty much screwed at that point. Hope the wait wasn't too long!

Babaksmiles: I bring you update! (laughs) Hopefully I'll be able to weave in some stuff on the Cylon end as well. I plan to. Just hope I do it well. Thankie for your feedback!

JAT.NJ: Hi! (huggies) Welcome to my wittle series. (laughs) I'm thrilled you've decided to read this one too as I'm very proud of it. It's always a high compliment when people who usually don't enjoy OFC's tell me they like my stuff. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!